Obsidian Daemon's POV
by Zariha321
Summary: This is Obsidian from Daemon's POV. I fell in love with this series as soon as I found it and LOVED finding the parts that the author did from Daemon's POV. I wanted to see the whole story that way, so here it is. I hope I can do Daemon justice and keep him in character. I don't own any part of this series or this story. Read and Review! Strong language and sexual themes.
1. Chapter 1

I watch as the moving truck backs it way up the drive way toward the old farm house next door. It has been years since anyone occupied that old house and I'm shocked that someone actually bought it. Behind the moving truck two cars pull into the drive way, a newer prius and an older car that looks like it will never handle the West Virginian winters.

I take in a deep breath and try to clear my thought. Something about this isn't sitting well with me. Having neighbors is going to be horrible. How are we supposed to lay low and keep away from humans if we have to have them so close to where we live. I growl to myself as dread washes over me. We've already lost so much and now to have humans here, so close to our home leaves me cold inside.

Dee runs into the kitchen where I'm standing watching what is happening outside. "Daemon, do you see this? What are we going to do?"

"Nothing Dee," I spat at her. "We aren't going to do anything. We are going to keep our distance and that is all, understand?"

Out of the Prius a woman stands and stretches. She's blond and pretty for an older woman. She walks around to the movers who are beginning to unload the large moving truck and starts to direct them. Then out of the older car I see the most beautiful creature emerge. She has long brown hair and a perfect body, even better than Ash's which is amazing.

The beautiful girl seems to be the same age as Dee and me. Oh damn, what the hell am I thinking? I can't think like this, it will just end up in all kinds of bad. But then Dee sees what I see and her eyes light up.

"Daemon, it's a girl our age," she squeals.

"Dee, don't even go there. You can't and you know it."

"Why? Daemon, why can't we have friends?"

"Dammit Dee, you know why. Now stop it and get ready, Ash, Andrew, and Adam will be here soon. We're going to the Smokehole for dinner."

Dee growls at me, her green eyes flashing with pure power. I always know when I piss her off. She looks like she's ready for a fight, but then the light dies down and she sends me one last glare before stalking out of the kitchen. For as dainty as she looks, she sounds like a herd of elephants as she stomps up the stairs to her room.

I continue to watch as the beautiful brunette gathers bags and other items out of her outdated car. She glances around as if she can't believe her surroundings, takes a deep breath and moves into the house and out of sight.

I snap myself out of my stupor and turn from the window. It makes no sense that I immediately felt an attraction to this girl. Luxen girls are perfect in every way, and Ash is especially perfect. But this girl, this girl is something else. But I can't let myself think that. I've got to keep my distance and I've got to make sure that Dee keeps her distance. We can't have this kind of problem again, not after Dawson and Bethany.

:::

Two mornings later, as I was washing my SUV I spotted the Prius coming up the driveway. The woman stepped out and glanced my direction. I ignored her stares as she made her way toward the house.

Dee walked around the front of the car and also caught the woman's eye. God I hope these people aren't going to be nosy, always staring over here at us when we are outside. That would just suck. The only time I'm really happy is when I'm outside doing things.

"That woman seems nice, doesn't she?" Dee asked.

"Dee, stop it. You know we can't go there."

"But Daemon, her daughter is our age. Maybe we could just be nice?"

"Nice? Yeah, sure Dee. Nice. We can accidently have to defend ourselves against an Aurum then she could end up with a trace. We are not going there again. I can't lose you because of a human like we lost Dawson."

Dee looks at me sadly and shakes her head. "You know, humans aren't as bad as you think. I'm sure there are lots of humans out there that could handle our secret and don't think you're fooling me, I saw the way you looked at that girl."

Stunned I look at her. Sometimes I swear Dee can read my mind. "I wasn't looking at that girl," I argued.

"Daemon, I saw you. You were practically drooling all over yourself. You are attracted to her. She's beautiful, why wouldn't you be?"

I ignored her. There was no way I was drooling on myself, I don't drool over anyone, especially a human girl. But there is something about that girl that stands out from every other human that I've ever seen, and I only caught a glimpse of her. She's something else.

Dee took my silence and smirked to herself. I guess she takes it as an admission or something, who knows. I busy myself with drying my SUV, can't have water spots on my precious vehicle.

"I'm going to the Foodland in town for some ice cream, do you need anything?"

"Yeah, how about you pick up other groceries too, not just ice cream."

She snickers, "Yeah, fine. I'll get other food too. See you later."

I move swiftly around the car and pull her into a hug, "Be careful and come straight home."

She hugs me back and smiles, "I will. I love you."

"Love you too."

She gets into her car and steers it down the driveway toward the main street. I watch until she is out of sight and then start to clean up the bucket and sponges. Once everything is put away, I go into the house and lounge on the couch. I flip through the channels on the television until I find a 'Ghost Investigator's' marathon. Sitting and watching these shows reminds me of Dawson. We would sit for hours on Saturdays and have our own ghost stories marathons. I loved it.

About ten minutes later, I'm relaxing on the couch watching the marathon when a knock sounds at my front door. I already know who this probably is, no one else would knock on my door and no one else would be around here to bother me. I stand and saunter to the front door, just before I open it I realize that I'm still not wearing a shirt from earlier. Oh well, let's see how flustered I can make this human girl.

Through the window on the door I can see her better than I did the other day. She has long light brown hair pulled into a ponytail, big eyes that are the shade of storm clouds. She has a perfect body, a curvy hour glass figure and nice breasts. Damn, I have got to stop thinking like this.

I open the door, ready to try to scare her away. I can't have her thinking she can come around here whenever she wants, no matter how much I'd like to see if her personality is as beautiful as her body.

"Can I help you?" I ask in my gruffest voice. It's not hard for me to sound gruff and intimidating, I was blessed with a deep and intimidating voice.

She just stands there staring at me. I snicker to myself, this is the reaction I expected when I decided to see if I can get her flustered. Apparently it's working.

She stands and stares, sliding her eyes over my body several times, from my face to my stomach and back again. Like she's taking all of me and committing me to memory. After a few moments I can't help by feel like a side of beef. I know I'm better built than the average human male, but if a guy were staring at her like this, she would probably be offended.

"Hello?" I say again, trying to snap her out of it and getting slightly annoyed. I stand and place one hand on the door frame, leaning forward. "Are you capable of speaking?"

She takes in a deep breath and her face is instantly a pretty shade of pink. The pink covers her cheeks and it brightens up her face, even though she really doesn't need it.

"Going once…" I say, ready to close the door and get as far away from her as I can.

"I…I was wondering if you knew where the closest grocery store is. My name is Katy. I moved next door." She pointed toward her house. "Like two days ago…"

"I know," I told her. It's not like I could have missed the huge moving truck, the fact that there was life in that house after it had been vacant for so long, or the beautiful girl that lives there. Nope, I couldn't miss any of that. I'd have to be blind to not see her.

"Well, I was hoping someone would know the quickest way to the grocery store and maybe a place that sold plants?"

"Plants?" I ask, trying to keep her here so I can just look at her for a few moments longer before pissing her off and making her go away.

"Yeah, see, there's a flower bed in front…"

I give her a look of part confusion and part annoyance. It's time to make her go away and not want to come back. I don't want her to think I'm friendly in any way.

"Okay."

I watch a wave of anger and annoyance wash over her face. Now I like her even more, she's not intimidated be me at all. I'm pissing her off, I love the way she looks pissed off.

"Well, see, I need to go by plants-"

"For the flower bed, I go that," I say, leaning against the door frame and crossing my arms. God she's beautiful in her tight tee-shirt and short shorts. She has long willowy legs for someone who can't be more than five feet- six inches tall. Her shirt that reads _My Blog is better than your Vlog_ says that she's an independent thinker who does her own thing and she doesn't care about what other people think. I love that. Most girls would have gotten all dolled up to meet the neighbors or they are like Ash, who always dresses up and wouldn't know how to just throw on a tee-shirt and shorts.

I think I've gotten to her when she takes a deep breath and the look of annoyance and distaste crosses her face. I snicker to myself, knowing that it didn't take much to piss her off. She's feisty, and I love it.

"I'd like to find a store where I can find groceries and plants," she says in a tone that sounds an awful lot like and adult talking to a child.

"You _are_ aware that this town only has one stop light, right?" I ask her, unable to hide the snicker in my voice. I know I sound condescending and rude. No matter what I need to make sure this girl stays away from me and my sister. I can't have Dee meeting her because she will fall in love with her immediately. There is something special about this girl. She's not like anyone I've ever encountered before. She's real, and that's a rare quality, especially in a girl in high school.

"You know, all I wanted was directions. This is obviously a bad time."

As my desires war with my obligations, I step up and pull myself to my full height. I'm at least a foot taller than this girl, her head barely reaches my shoulder. I try to intimidate her with my size, but apparently that isn't working either. So now it's time to insult her.

"Any time is a bad time for you to come knocking on my door, kid."

A look of complete disgust passes over her beautiful features, even that look is attractive on her. I have yet to see anything expression that takes away from her beauty.

"Kid?" she looks at me incredulously.

I raise my brow at her and smirk. That did it, I pissed her off good now.

"I'm not a kid. I'm seventeen."

So she is my age, just a little younger since Dee and I turned eighteen a few weeks ago.

"Is that so? You look like you're twelve." I stare at her, that couldn't be any further from the truth. She's definitely not built like a twelve or thirteen year old. Her body is too perfect for that. "No. Maybe thirteen, but my sister has this doll that kind of reminds me of you. All big eyed and vacant."

At that moment I know I may have taken it a little too far. The look that crosses her face makes me want to pull her into me and apologize. It makes me want to take everything back and let her know that she's the most gorgeous girl that I've ever laid eyes on in my life. But the deed is done. She's pissed and hurt, that should keep her away from us once and for all.

I can see the tears and hurt building in her as she looks at me astonished. "Yeah, wow. Sorry to bother you. I won't be knocking on your door ever again. Trust me."

And with that she turns and walks away, down the steps, and back toward her house. I can see she's struggling to keep it together. Remorse floods me. I'm not the dick that I make people believe that I am. I hate having to push people away like this. I hate having to be the one that behaves this way to keep my family safe.

"Hey," I call out to her.

She stops but doesn't turn around, "What?"

"You get on route 2 and turn on to US 220 North, not South. Takes you into Petersburg." I let out an exasperated breath. Not because I'm annoyed with her, but because I'm annoyed with myself. I hate being a dick sometimes. "The Foodland is right in town. You can't miss it. Well maybe you could," as soon as the words are out of my mouth I regret them. I think my douchebaggery has reached a new level today. "There's a hardware store next door, I think. They should have things that go in the ground."

"Thanks," she says quietly and starts to move away. Under her breath I hear her say one last work, "Douchebag."

I snicker to myself. Even though I've done everything I could to make her cry and make her run away from here, she's still feisty and refusing to just put up with my shit. I love it. "Now that's not very ladylike, kittycat," I taunt. I am warring with myself, between keeping her here and talking to me and forcing her to go away. I can't make myself want to push her away, even for our own good, Dee, me, and her. For some reason I want to keep her near and have her with me.

God, I wonder if this is what happened with Dawson and Beth. He did seem to fall for her the moment that he laid eyes on her. It was like Beth was his other half, his missing piece. And then whatever happened between them the day they went hiking and they were like two halves of a whole after that. Like whatever happened that day on the rocks linked them on a cosmic level or something. I feel even worse for ridiculing him and trying to force him away from her now. Because no matter how hard I want to push the beauty in front of me away, there is another part of me that wants to keep her for my own and love her.

She flipped around, sending me a death glare. Her gray eyes alight with the color of storm clouds churning, "Don't ever call me that."

"It's better than calling someone a douchebag, isn't it?" I ask, pushing open the screen door and walking out on the porch. "This has been a stimulating visit. I'll cherish it for a long time to come."

I sound like an ass, but the words are true. I like talking to her. I like being around her. I want to be closer to her and really know her.

I see her completely snap, she's not just feisty, she's not afraid of me. And she's not going to back down, no matter how much of an ass I'm being and how hard I'm trying to push her away from me.

"You know, you're right. How wrong of me to call you a douchebag. Because a douchebag is too nice a word for you," she smiled a sweet mile toward me. "You're a dickhead."

I smile, a real smile, but just for a moment. But the smirk doesn't leave me no matter how hard I try. Damn, this girl is awesome. I gaze toward her with a renewed appreciation, "A dickhead? How charming."

She flipped me off and that's it, I laugh again. I can't help myself. This whole situation is funny. She's unlike any human I've ever encountered. She's not superficial or full of herself. She's strong and brave and she doesn't care about what someone else thinks about her. I bet she's also loyal and trusting to those who earn it from her.

"Very civilized, Kitten. I'm sure you have a wild array of interesting names and gestures for me, but I'm not interested."

She just stared at me dumbfounded. She gathers herself and turns away. I could see in her eyes that she could have given it to me much worse than she did. I watch as she stalks across the lawn and back toward her house. Head held high, she doesn't even falter when I call back to her.

"See you later, Kitten," I shouted at her before closing the door, a little harder than I meant to.

I watch out the window as she gets into her car. I can see the flush that covers her face, a sure sign that she's either crying or on the verge of it. I feel awful for making her feel so bad, but I know it's what I had to do. Now if I could just keep Dee away from her, a job easier said than done.

She puts her car in reverse and backs down the driveway.


	2. Chapter 2

Twenty minutes later my cell phone rings with a familiar tone. "Dee, where are you? You've been gone for a while now."

"I know, I'm fine Daemon. I stopped at a little shop that sells clothes and stuff. I'm on my way to Foodland now. Is there anything you want? I thought I'd check again since I've been gone for a while."

"No, just get home…"

"Oh wait. Daemon, do you know our neighbor's name? I just saw her get out of her car in the parking lot."

"Dee, don't. You know you can't be friends with her."

"Shut-up Daemon. I'm not going to be mean to her. I just want to say hi. Do you know her name?"

I take in a deep breath. "Whatever. Her name's Katy. She was just here a little while ago to ask for directions."

"Daemon, please tell me you weren't mean."

When I'm silent Dee takes in a deep breath, "Daemon, someday you are going to meet your match when it comes to your attitude. I just hope I'm there when it happens so I can laugh at you."

"Just come home soon," I tell her. There's no way I'm admitting to the fact that I've met my match, and she's human.

I hang up the phone and go to sit back and try to get back into watching the 'Ghost Investigators' marathon. But no matter how hard I try, I can't get the girl out of my mind.

:::

When Dee arrives home she seems happier than she has in a long time. The fact of the matter is, Dee is lonely. She only has Ash, Andrew, and Adam other than me, and she isn't close to any of them, not really. According to the elders, she's supposed to commit herself to Adam after we graduate. Get knocked up and pump out babies to help repopulate our people, kind of like I'm supposed to do with Ash. And just like me, Dee feels no real attraction Adam. Maybe someday she will, but that day isn't today. I don't see myself ever feeling any real attraction to Ash either. She doesn't challenge me at all, she's too easily willing to do what I want, when I want. She doesn't argue with me or make me work for anything. She doesn't love me, not the way a couple who are supposed to be together forever are supposed to love each other and that's okay. But she's perfectly willing to lie down and have my children without complaint, and that's the problem. I want a girl who challenges me and makes me work for her love and makes me want to be with her, not because we are supposed to, but because we can't live without the other.

In a flurry of pink, Dee busies herself with the groceries while I start to eat what I pull out of the bags. Two fudge pops, peanut butter, and a half a bag of chips are gone before the groceries are even put in the proper place. When Dee notices she sends me a death glare that makes me smirk.

"What? I was hungry," I defend.

"Damn-it Daemon. I bought the fudge pops and chips for me, not you. You said you didn't want anything."

"Well, I changed my mind," I give her a shit-eating grin, the kind that pisses her off every time.

"You are such an ass, you know that," she grumbles.

I snicker again, and turn from the kitchen. Dee runs up the stairs and about ten minutes later she comes down in different clothes and heads to the door.

"And where do you think you are going?" I ask as she places her hand on the door.

She turns and looks at me, nervous. "Where are you going?" I ask again.

"I… I'm going to help Katy with her garden. I met her at the grocery store and she invited me to come over and help her. She's really nice Daemon, I can't believe you were so mean to her."

"She told you I was mean to her?" I ask annoyed. Maybe she isn't as independent and different as I thought, especially if she goes running to my sister.

"Not in so many words, but I could tell. She actually didn't say anything negative about you at all. But I knew you said something that made her mad."

I smirk again. Maybe Kitten isn't like any other human. "So what? You're going to go garden with her? And what happens when she wants to be your friend Dee? You know it's not safe for her or us if you befriend her. You could endanger all of us."

"Why? Just because I want to be her friend? It doesn't have to be like that Daemon. And if you got to know her, you could probably be her friend too. Don't tell me that you are happy with the way things are because I know you aren't, I know you hate being stuck to Ash, Adam, and Andrew just as much as I do. Andrew is an ass, Adam is just Adam, and Ash things she's god's gift. You don't even like girls that act like she does."

"It doesn't matter Dee, if you become her friend, you'll have the elders and the DOD breathing down our necks again. Is that what you want? Damn-it, we lost Dawson because of a human, I won't lose you too. She is different from us. You don't need a friend like her."

Tears starting to pool in her eyes, the green flashing and becoming more translucent. The pupil turning white and showing the power building in her. She's not going to back down from this. I guess I'm going to have to make Kitten back down first.

"Fine, but know right now that I don't approve of this. It's dangerous for everyone and it's not fair to bring her into something that she knows nothing about."

"And why can't we be honest with her. I think she can handle it, I really do. I just get this feeling from her that she's nothing like most humans. She's different, Daemon. Are you seriously telling me you didn't feel it too?"

I take in a deep, unnecessary breath. Of course I felt it. I knew it almost immediately, but I won't tell Dee that. I won't tell her that I'm secretly transfixed by this girl.

Dee doesn't say another word. She walks to the door and before she steps out I call out to her.

"You know you are dressed completely inappropriately for gardening?"

She huffs as whatever and slams the door, leaving me standing in the doorway of the living room. I'm actually impressed that Dee stood up to me, she usually is so passive that she doesn't argue when I tell her she can't or shouldn't do something. This girl, this human girl brought out the warrior in my sister. What is it about this human that makes Dee become the Luxen she needs to be and makes me want to ignore our people's rules about humans to get to know her? These thought bring be back to Dawson and Beth again. He was so willing to fight for her after only knowing her for a short time. He stood up to me for the first time because of her. I just didn't see what he saw, but now in Katy, I think I may see what Dawson saw in Beth, and that scare the shit out of me.

I move up to my room so I can watch over what Dee and Katy are doing outside. The two of them sit on her porch talking about things I can only imagine. Dee on the porch swing while Katy lifts herself onto the railing. I watch them for a few moments before I decide to do a little research about this girl Katy. Every teenager is plastered all over the internet, their lives an open book for the world. There has got to be something that I can find out about her.

I pull my laptop off of my desk and settle down on my bed for some cyber stalking. I type in her name in the search engine and immediately a facebook page, an Instagram, a twitter, and blog pops up all attached to her name. The first thing I open is her facebook, I scroll through the information that she shares with the public, including pictures of her on the beach with friends. I go through the other social networking sights looking at pictures and posts about her life in Florida, where she lived before here. Then I come across the obituary that she has in her images, that names her as the daughter of the deceased. She lost her father three years ago. Next I go to her blog, 'Katy's Krazy Obsession'. This girls is totally obsessed with reading and books.

I stalk her blog a little more, trying to get a feel for the girl. It's cute how excited she seems to get about books. She has a real passion for reading, one I've never seen before. Her life in Florida seemed for focus on hanging on the beach and living in bathing suits, which shouldn't surprise me I guess. She seemed perfectly at home like that and it made me appreciate her body even more, seeing her in a red bikini in one of the pictures.

I close my laptop, realizing I can't get a true understanding for the girl through cyberspace and decide to lie down for a while. Shortly after I lie down I hear Dee burst through the door and stomp up the stairs. She knocks on my door then shoves it open.

"What happened to gardening?" I ask with a hint of sarcasm in my tone.

"Shut-up alright, it started to rain."

"And was that your doing?"

"No… Well, maybe. She started talking about parents and I got a little nervous. I don't like Lying to her, Daemon. How can we be friends if I constantly have to lie-"

"That is exactly my point Dee. That is what I've been trying to get through to you. You can never be honest with her. You will have to hide who you are, so you can never really be her friend, can you."

"I'm not giving up, Daemon. We are going to the garden center tomorrow to get plants for her garden, and I'm going to learn to garden with her."

I shake my head. I know this is going to end up badly. I can just feel it.


	3. Chapter 3

When Dee left early this morning I tried to talk her out of going and helping that girl next door with anything. That's the name I'm going with now, that girl next door. If I keep referring to her with pet names, I won't be able to stop myself. So that girl is the best I'll do.

I was back to feeling like I had to keep them apart for the better of all of us. If Dee becomes attached, if anyone else becomes attached, it won't end well. Dee practically begged me to let her have this. The tears in her eyes and her tone made me waver long enough to agree, with the stipulation that this was a onetime thing. They are different, and Dee knows it.

When Dee's car pulls up the driveway and in front of the house next door, I watch them start to unload the plants and huge bags of mulch. That girl isn't afraid of getting dirty and actually working, is she. They manage to unload a couple of the bags before going inside. While they are inside I go out and levitate the bags from the car and stack them by the garden. I quickly go back inside before either of them sees. Dee will know it was me, but Katy doesn't need to know.

I watch as the two of them come back out and start in on the garden. Katy seems completely comfortable working with her hands while Dee looks out of place in her skirt and sandals. But Dee digs right in while the two girls talk and work.

After a while of alternating between watching them and watching some show about haunted houses, my phone rings.

When I answer I'm immediately greeted with the sound of Matthew's voice bitching me out about Dee's new friend. He may be older and be a kind of guardian for us, but he still pisses me off to no end.

"I'm taking care of it, Matthew."

He keeps his tirade going and I ignore most of what he says. He's so adamant about staying away from the humans and keeping to ourselves, especially since Dawson, that he's like a freaking broken record.

Through his rant, I walk out the door, forgetting that I'm topless and that Dee and Katy are out there.

Though I'm on the phone, I'm more aware of what Dee and Katy are talking about than Matthew. I just have to let him bitch until he wears himself out or he realizes that I zoned out a while ago. Then he'll give up and shut-up.

Over Matthew's voice, I hear Katy ask Dee if I own a shirt. I snicker to myself a little, I love that I get that girl all flustered by just not wearing a shirt.

"Matthew, you need to relax. It's under control." This comment sends him into more of a tirade. I know what he's thinking. He's thinking that I said the same thing about Dawson and Beth, but the fact of the matter is, I have no control over anything. I couldn't control who Dawson fell for any more than I can tell my sister no when she gets all teary and sad.

I walked around the yard, listening to Matthew complain and trying to reassure him that it's all good. About a half hour later, I run into the house and throw a shirt on and go back out to draw my sister home and to have her call Matthew.

When I get there, Katy is on the ground digging holes and filling them with plants while Dee stands and talks to her. They get along so well so fast, it reminds me of how quickly Dawson and Beth hit it off. Too bad I have to put an end to this.

I walk over to Dee and wrap my arm around her shoulders, "Hey Sis." She tries to wiggle away from me with no avail. I'm stronger and she knows it.

She looks up at me and smiles, "Thanks for moving the bags for us."

I smile at her. "Wasn't me," I deny.

"Whatever, butthead."

I smile wider and pull her closer, "That's not nice." I glance toward Katy and scowl at her. Time to try to piss her off and make her want to stay away from Dee so she doesn't have to be near me. I know Dee is going to hate me for this, but it is how it has to be. I know this girl is interesting and she seems different, but she is trouble, and she'll cause us nothing but trouble. I'm sure of it. "What are you doing?"

"I'm fixing…" the girl begins, but I cut her off immediately. If I learned anything from my confrontation with her yesterday, it is that she hates being cut off.

I snap at her as nastily as possible, "I wasn't asking you." I turn my attention away from that girl and back to my sister, "What are _you_ doing?"

The girl turns her focus from me and is visibly calming herself. She starts to focus in on her plants and seems to let the rest of the world, me and Dee included, fall into the background. I've got to get her attention again if I'm going to successfully piss her off.

"I'm helping her with the flower bed. Be nice," Dee tells me, punching me in the stomach, hard. She wriggles away from me. "Look what we've done. I think I have a hidden talent."

I'm silent for a long time. Watching as Katy… I mean the girl… places plants into the ground and sprinkles mulch around everything. It does actually look nice, not that I would ever say that. I'm silent for so long that she looks up at me.

"What?"

"It's nice. I guess," I say emotionlessly.

"Nice?" Dee shouts, looking at me like I'm insane. I guess this is a first for my sister. Manual labor really isn't her thing. She's not usually the outdoorsy kind of girl. She's the shopping kind of girl. So for her to do something like this, is actually kind of amazing. "It's better than nice. We rocked this project. Well Katy rocked it. I just kind of handed her stuff."

Ignoring my sister I turn my attention to the girl crouching on the ground, "Is this what you do with your spare time?"

"What- are you deciding to talk to me now?" she asks, spreading more mulch. "Yeah, it's kind of a hobby. What's yours? Kicking puppies?"

Now it's time to see the flush cross her cheeks again. I liked how she looked yesterday when the embarrassed flush touched her cheeks. What the hell is my problem? One minute I want to chase her away, the next I'm trying to embarrass her so that I can watch her flush. Damn, I suck at this.

"I'm not sure I should say in front of my sister," I tell her.

"Ew," Dee says behind me. It makes me snicker a little.

By the look on Kitten's face, I can immediately tell where her mind has drifted to. I love having that effect on girls, especially this girl. "But it's not nearly as lame as this," I say gesturing to the garden, that is actually quite impressive.

She spreads mulch and then looks up at me, "Why is this lame?"

I give her a look that I hope says that I'm not even going to answer that because its lameness is self-explanatory. Apparently I got my point across because she looks at me pissed, but then looks to my sister and clamps her mouth shut and continues with the mulch. I'm impressed. She's keeping her mouth shut because of my sister? That was unexpected. I didn't expect a human to have that kind of self-control to be able to shut her mouth to save a friend.

Dee pushes me, but I don't budge. I just keep my eyes locked on the girl crouching on the ground, with her hands in the dirt.

"Don't be a jerk. Please," Dee begs me. I feel bad hurting my sister like this. But she has to know that this is just all kinds of bad and it can't work out. Their friendship can't work out.

"I'm not being a jerk," I deny. I look to the girl, who now really looks like a kitten crouching on the ground, her hair standing on end, ready to pounce. "What's that? You have something to say, Kitten?"

"Other than I'd like you to never call me _Kitten_? No." She stands and dusts the dirt off of her clothes. God is her body perfect and her face is so pretty. "I think we did good," she says looking past me to Dee.

"Yes," Dee said smiling and attempting to push me toward our house again. "We did good, lameness and all. And you know what? I kind of like being lame."

I stare down at the flowers, they really are very pretty and they liven up the place a lot, make it look lived in as opposed to just a house.

"And I think we need to spread our lameness to the flowerbed in front of our house," Dee says. "We can go to the store, get stuff, and you can…"

This snaps me out of my gaze. How can she think it would be a good idea to have her at our house? She's just not getting that this is all a bad idea and I can't let this happen. "She's not welcome in our house. Seriously," I snap at Dee, turn and giving her a hard look.

Dee didn't back down though, a behavior I'm not used to. She usually caves to my word, but not now. What in the hell is this girl doing to my sister? "I was thinking we could work on the flowerbed, which is outside, not inside, the last time I checked."

"I don't care," I growled, "I don't want her over there."

Dee's eyes start to pool with tears and they beg me to stop. "Daemon, don't do this," she whispers for only me. "Please, I like her."

I can't help it, I hate to see her so upset and the fact that I made her so upset makes it even worse. I feel myself soften to her, "Dee…"

"Please?" Dee pleads. I know she doesn't feel like Ash and the others are her friends. I know she feels weighed down by her expected partnership with Adam. I know she is starving for some kind of connection with someone other than us.

"Dee, you have friends," I argue, even though my heart really isn't in it. I desperately want to keep her safe and keeping her away from the human is the best way I know to keep her safe.

"It's not the same and you know it," she folds her arms, glaring at me. "It's different."

I know exactly what she means. I really don't totally like Andrew, he's kind of a dick, Ash is just Ash, Adam is really the only one that doesn't make me want to poke my own eyes out sometimes. It's not the same as making your own friends, but they are the same as us. This human isn't.

I glance toward the girl, Kitten, and scowl, then I turn my attention back to my sister. "They're your friends, Dee. They're like you. You don't need to be friends with someone… someone like her."

This is the worst sounding sentence that I've ever spoken aloud. I feel like such a bigot saying this about her. We are treated like shit by the government, we are forced to act a certain way by both our elders and the DOD, we are discriminated against and treated like shit all of the time and here I am doing it to her because she's human. But this is what is expected. She will never be welcomed by our community, Ash and the rest will treat her like she's a piece of shit, and Matthew might just have a total fit. It has to be this way.

Those last words must have been the tipping point, because now Katy looks like she could spit fire. "What do you mean, someone like me?" she asks.

I glare at her, she needs to keep out of this. It isn't her business. Dee looks between Katy and myself with fear in her eyes. She immediately speaks up, "He didn't mean anything by it," she defends.

"Bullshit," I growl. I did. I need to make sure this doesn't happen.

"What the _hell_ is your problem?" Katy growls back. She's not backing down at all. I kind of like that I can't intimidate her, but it's also pissing me off.

"You," I tell her. Part serious, part not. My problem has more to do with the DOD and other humans than her.

"I'm your problem?" she asks. "I don't even know you. And you don't know me."

She's right about that and I need to keep it that way, no matter the consequences.

"You are all the same," I reason and it's true. Most humans basically suck on an epic level. "I don't need to get to know you. Or do I want to."

She throws her arms into the air and sends me a death glare. She's actually kind of intimidating in her own way. I do like that she won't back down from a fight and I really like seeing her like this, all feisty and angry, it's sexy.

"That works perfectly for me, buddy, because I don't want to get to know you either."

Dee grabs my arm and begs me, "Daemon. Knock it off." The tears in her eyes make me falter for just a moment. I hate hurting my sister like this. But I keep my eyes trained on Katy and smirk.

"I don't like that you're friends with my sister."

"And I don't give two shits what you like," she fires back immediately.

Now I'm not sure if I'm hot because I'm pissed or because I'm completely turned on by the fact that she won't back down from me. Either way, it's not good. This kind of pissed off could lead to loss of control of my powers and the latter would just be completely wrong. Before I realize what I did, I move faster than I should have and got into her face. Damn, I'm not supposed to do that in front of humans. But now I'm in her face, breathing the same air. I can smell the earth on her, her sweat, and the sweet smell of peaches and vanilla wafting off of her. Together the smells are intoxicating and arousing.

"How… how did you move…?" she asks.

I've got to keep this going and ignore the fact that I just moved faster than I was supposed to, "Listen closely." I step toward her and she steps back. She continues to move backward with me matching each step until her back slams into a tree. I smirk, I got her in an interesting position and I'm aware of what the repercussions of her position could be, if Dee weren't here watching horrified. I bend down and move closer into her face so she sees nothing but my startling green eyes, I know they must appear to be glowing right now. "I'm only going to tell you this once. If anything happens to my sister so help me…" I glance down toward her parted lips. Lips I desperately want to taste for myself. I pull my eyes back up and send a glare back to Katy. I hope she didn't notice my momentary lapse. But then I can see her trying desperately to keep her eyes off of me and I know she's thinking very much like I am. Neither of us can seem to ignore this attraction, no matter how unnatural and wrong it is.

I smirk and let her see my arrogance pass over me. I want her to know that I can see what she's thinking about.

"You're kind of dirty, Kitten," I whisper to her, the smirk never leaving my face.

Her cheeks flush and she stares at me, seemingly afraid to speak, "What did you say?"

"Dirty," I repeat in a low and gruff voice. "You're covered in dirt. What did you think I meant?" I know exactly what she thought. I know she's undressed me with her eyes several times since yesterday, I can see it.

"Nothing," she retorts quickly. "I'm gardening. You get dirty when you do that."

I send her a seductive smirk, "There are a lot more fun ways to get… dirty. Not that I'd ever show you." There is no one I'd want to show more than her. She's so freaking hot.

"I'd rather roll around in manure than anything you might sleep in," she retorts.

I send her a glare, I know I've done my job. I pissed her off. Hopefully enough for her to think that Dee isn't worth her time. I spin around and my eyes find Dee, "You need to call Matthew. Like now and not five minutes from now."

I stalk back across the yard and don't glance back until I'm on my porch ready to go back into my house. Katy is still pressed against the tree with a look of horror and desire plastered across her face. I managed to freak her out a bit, but I may have also ignited something there too. I know something is ignited in me. Being that close to her, smelling her… What am I thinking? Nothing can come from this, ever.

I move up to my room, I need to change and take a run or something. I have way too much energy and tension built up in me right now. And it's all because of Kitten. I put on shorts and sneaks. When I move out the back door I can see Dee and Kitten still talking. Dee seems to be desperate for her to not have been scared away. I don't even care right now. I need to get away from the door. I move as fast as light to the woods behind our house before taking on my true form and flashing through the forest. Maybe if I can put enough space and time between me and the girl next door, I'll be able to handle this and get rid of her. If I keep flirting, this is just going to end badly.


	4. Chapter 4

When I return home from my run, Dee is sitting on the couch with tears in her eyes. She looks up at me, her green eyes translucent and glowing. The sadness behind her eyes is heartbreaking. Dee is my little sister, and the only family I have left. In the Luxen community, women and girls are treated as special gifts from the heavens. Men in our community outnumber women 2 to 1, so women are revered. But that is not the reason that my sister is special to me, she's special because she's Dee. She's innocent and pure, she looks beyond my obvious bad attitude and she sees me for the man I am and not who I have to be. She also loves me in spite of myself, which is a feat all its own.

Being one of the strongest in my community, I have to protect the others. It's my responsibility to make sure that the others are safe from humans, Aurum, the DOD, and the elders. I don't let any of them intimidate me. The only thing that bothers me is the thought of losing Dee or seeing her hurt.

"What's wrong? Did that girl do something to upset you? Did she break off your friendship?" I ask almost hopefully.

Tears spilling over her cheeks, she shakes her head. "No, Katy didn't care about what you said. She's insistent that you can't scare her away, no matter what you do."

A new feeling of admiration builds in my chest. The girl isn't behaving like any human that I've threatened before. I've threatened a lot of humans off, intimidating them until they feel like pursuing a friendship with any of us wouldn't be worth their time. But this girl is spunky, I'll give her that much.

"Then what's wrong?" I ask Dee, worried.

"Matt… Matthew wants me to go spend a few days at his cabin with Adam, so we can get to know each other and start our…" she pauses and looks physically ill, "our courtship. He says that this is what the elders want," she explains.

I shake my head, this is the way it works in our community. The girls are quickly paired off with a male and they are expected to mate once they graduate high school. By this time next year, my sister could be carrying a set of her own triplets. I know this isn't what she wants, she wants to go to college, she wants to do her own thing and choose her own life partner. Even though Adam is a good guy, she may never figure that out because all she sees are the expectations of our community.

"When do you have to go?" I ask finally noticing the suitcase sitting by doorway.

"I was just waiting for you to get home," she smiles and quickly stands and wipes her face clear of her sadness and annoyance. She gets a gleam of mischief in her sparking green eyes.

"What?" I ask her.

"Oh, nothing," she smirks. "It's just I've hidden your keys and you will never find them."

"What? Dee you know I need that car to go to the store and do normal things."

She smirks more, "I know. That's why I did it. You will definitely need a shopping trip before I get back."

"Damn it Dee, tell me where my keys are," I growl.

She laughs now, "Nope. I'll tell you where they are but first you have to earn some bonus points."

"What the holy hell are you talking about? Give me my fucking keys, Dee."

"No, you will get them back but first you have to apologize to Katy. You have to also do something nice for her. You could take her to the lake to go swimming or something like that."

"No way in hell, Dee. I'm not spending time with that… that human. You know I can just hotwire my car."

"But you won't hotwire it. It's too precious to you," she says. "You will hang with Katy if you want your keys back. I like Katy and I want to be her friend. She's already said that she isn't going to let you scare her away, but I think there is something else boiling between the two of you. If you see that she's different, that she's special, then maybe you can figure out that there is something more there for you too."

"Not going to happen."

"Then you aren't going anywhere in town until I get back on Friday. Because how would it look if you run into town for groceries and then run home. You will be seen, you will blow our cover, and then the elders will be pissed. Just spend one afternoon with her, that's all I'm asking."

She wraps her arms around me and kisses my cheek. "I love you Daemon, but you are a miserable man and I think there is someone that could make you a little less miserable if you let her."

"You know it's forbidden, Dee. Look at what happened with Dawson," I say quietly.

"Dawson was never happier than when he was with Bethany. He loved her and he was willing to give up everything for that happiness. I think you could use your own bit of happiness. Just be nice, hang out with her one day, if you hate it then you'll never have to be around her again. I'll stop hanging with her and I won't push it anymore," she sticks out her hand, "Do we have a deal?"

I look at her hand and then into her eyes. She looks so sure, like she knows something or sees something that I don't know or see. She smiles that same mischievous smile, the one that has driven me nuts since we were kids. There's a knowing and a maturity behind that smile and it annoys the hell out of me.

"What if I find my keys first?" I ask, challenging her.

"You won't, that I'm sure of. Take her swimming and the keys are yours. Maybe you'll actually have fun."

She kisses my cheek once more, picks up her suitcase and goes out to her car. When she puts the car in reverse and begins to back out, she waves and gives me a sad smile. I watch until the car is out of sight and turn back into the house. Now it's time to tear this house apart to find these damn keys.

Three hours… three hours of pulling the entire house apart from top to bottom to find my freaking keys and I've found nothing. Nothing but dust bunnies and some change, no keys. Dammit, where in the hell could she have put them?

I look to the clock that says its past midnight now, I guess I could go to bed and start again tomorrow. But I know it won't be worth it. If Dee doesn't want me to find the keys, I won't.

:::

The next morning when I wake, I busy myself with cleanup. While the house is torn apart I might as well give it a good cleaning. I get rid of the multitude of dust bunnies, sweep and mop, dust and vacuum, until the house is fresh and clean. Well, if nothing else at least that's done, but I still don't have my keys.

Outside I hear the sounds of water spraying and slopping. I turn to the window to find the girl next door beginning to wash her car. She's dressed in a tight tank top, short jean shorts and flip flops. Her long light brown hair is pulled back in some kind of clip that keeps it back and out of her perfect face. The tank top hugs her upper body, revealing how supple her breasts are, something I never noticed beneath the bulkier tee-shirts, and the short shorts show off her shapely legs. Most guys look at Ash and think she has a perfect body, and don't get me wrong, Ash is striking and her body is gorgeous but she knows she's gorgeous. She knows it and she makes sure that others know it too. She loves to show off her body and make guys drool for something that they can never have. But Katy is something else. She's beautiful but she doesn't seem to know it. She doesn't flaunt herself, or act like she even thinks she's pretty.

I continue to watch her as she moves around the car, and when it comes time for her to wash the roof of the car, she manages to get herself more wet than the roof. From where I'm standing I can see how frustrated she's getting. I can also see how her top and shorts are now soaked and how the tank top clings to her curves and has become slightly see through.

I'm not sure when I decided that I was going to go through with Dee's plan to make me hang with her. Was it when I was watching her wash the car or when I saw how her wet top clung to her breasts and hugged her curves, I don't know. But I found myself outside standing in front of her, snickering at her frustration.

"You look as if you could use some help," I say in a low, smooth baritone.

She stood, staring at me as if she's waiting for a bomb to explode and I suppose she kind of was. I didn't give her any reason to think I could ever just be nice. I am always either rude or snapping at her like she's beneath me. I kind of always felt like humans were beneath me. They are fragile and usually untrustworthy, but that changed when Dawson made me get to know Bethany. She wasn't weak and she wasn't afraid of us, even when she found out the truth she didn't back down no matter how hard I tried to scare her away. She earned my respect, and now it's happening again which is all the more reason to make this girl go away.

"You looked as though you wanted to throw that again," I say, trying to break her from her silent gaping. "I figured I'd do my good deed for the day and intervene before any innocent sponges lose their lives."

Still gaping at me, I walk over to the bucket and pick up the sponge and ring it out. She's still silent, but at least I know she's not frozen or something when she moves a wet piece of hair out of her face.

"You look like you got more of a bath than the car. I never thought washing a car would be so hard, but after watching you for the last fifteen minutes, I'm convinced it should be an Olympic sport."

"You were watching me?" she asks. Suddenly I feel like some kind of stalker or something. I do like watching her. I like the way she looks and that she's not afraid to get dirty or in this case wet to accomplish something. Most girls would just take their car through a car wash or let someone else do it for them. But not this girl, she takes care of business herself and doesn't wait for someone else to take care of it for her.

"You could always take the car to the car wash. It would be a lot easier."

"Car washes are a waste of money," she says, confirming my beliefs. I've already figured so much out about this girl and I know there is so much more to her than what I see on the surface.

"True," I say. I knelt on the ground and started washing the fender where she missed some spots. I look over her car, it's old and seems to be on its last leg, I wonder how it runs. Then I noticed the state of her tires, she isn't getting around anywhere when the snow starts if she doesn't get new ones. "You need new tires. These are about bald and the winters are crazy around here."

She looks at me like I'm crazy as I finish with the fender and start on the roof. In a matter of minutes, something she was struggling with is done and I start for the hose to rinse the car off. I smile at her, "Anyway, I'm glad you're out here. I think I'm supposed to apologize." I spray the car and watch as the suds run from the car and across the driveway. I send Kat another smile.

"You _think_ you're supposed to?" she asks, an incredulous tone to her voice.

I turn toward her and narrow my eyes at the bright summer sun. I love the feel of the sun on my body, giving me power and making me feel like I'm invincible. I move to the other side of the car, purposely sending a rogue spray toward her. I snickered to myself when she jumped back from the spray. Not that it would have made a difference, her clothes were completely soaked and her shirt was almost completely see through.

"Yeah, according to Dee I needed to get my ass over here and make nice. Something about me killing her chances of having a "normal" friend."

"A normal friend?" she asks, confused. "What kind of friends does she have?"

"Not normal," I say flatly.

"Well apologizing and not meaning it kind of defeats the purpose of apologizing."

"True," I smirk. She's right about that. But do I mean it? No, not really. I truly believe that she's not good for Dee to hang around. Dee needs to be kept safe she can't be safe hanging around a human.

"Are you serious?" she asks annoyance evident in her tone.

"Yeah," I say, dragging out the word. "Actually, I don't have a choice. I have to make nice."

"You don't seem like someone who does anything he doesn't want to do," she says. And damn she's already figuring me out too. I don't do anything that I don't want. Do I really need my keys? No I don't I could just hotwire my car and be on my way. So am I really doing this because I want to? Not that I'd ever admit that to Dee or Kat, but I think I am. I want to explore this feeling that I have when I'm around her. I want to see what it means when every time I come into contact with her I feel electricity vibrating through me, and not in the normal way. Heat and fire burns though every part of me when my skin contacts hers.

"Normally I'm not," I say moving around the car to make sure all of the suds are rinsed away. "But my sister took my car keys and until I play nice, I don't get them back. It's too damn annoying to get replacements."

She laughed, a beautiful musical sound, "She took your keys?"

I scowl at her, even though I loved the sound of her laugh, "It's not funny."

"You're right," she laughs again. "It's freaking hilarious."

I scowl again, sending her my best glare.

"I'm sorry, though," she says folding her arms across her chest. "I'm not accepting your not-so-sincere apology."

"Not even when I'm cleaning your car?" I ask with mock annoyance.

"Nope. You may never see those keys again," she laughs.

"Well damn, there went my plan. I figured that if I really didn't feel bad, then at least I could make up for it," I say smiling.

"Are you normally this warm and sparkly?"

I walk past her, taking all of her in as I move closer to her. She's wearing a light blue tank top with what appears to be a blue lacy bra beneath. The tank is clinging to the curves of her breasts and showing the contours of the bra and her flat stomach. Her hair is wet and a mess, but it looks sexy on her, the wet look really works for her. Her jean shorts cling to the curves of her ass and she definitely has an ass, not one of those flat ones but one that guys like to grab a hold of. She has a perfect hour glass figure. I shake my head and try to clear my thoughts as I turn the water off.

I turn my attention back to her words, and smirk. I'm going to see if I really can make her flustered. "Always. Do you usually stare at guys when you stop over, asking for directions?"

Immediately pink finds her cheeks.

"Do you always answer the door half naked?" she retorts.

"Always. And you didn't answer the question. Do you always stare?" I push.

The flush on her cheeks turns red, I like that she was looking at me like that and I really like the flush that covers her face right now.

"I was not staring," she denies. But she can't deny it. She stared so long that I thought she might have been mute or something. I snicker to myself because the red on her face is starting to extend to her neck.

I give her a half grin, almost a real smile. I don't give many people real smiles, especially humans. "Really?" I look at her skeptically and widen my grin just a little more. "Anyway, you woke me up. I'm not a morning person."

"It wasn't that early," she pointed out. And it wasn't, I had washed my car and was actually watching television when she came over. The sleeping excuse just sounds better than I was purposely being a complete dick.

"I sleep in. Its summer, you know. Don't you sleep in?"

"No. I always get up early."

I groan, no wonder my sister loves her, they are a lot alike. "You sound just like my sister. No wonder she loves you so much already."

"Dee has taste… unlike some," she retorts.

I snicker at this. I have great taste, I just can't pursue it. I can't.

"And she's great. I really like her, so if you're over here to play big brother, just forget it."

Okay, she's not afraid of me, she's willing to stand up to be to be friends with my sister, and she's beautiful, she might just be the perfect girl.

"That's not why I'm here." I tell her. I start to gather the bucket and other cleaning things that she has lying around and set them on the porch. She just stands there and stares like I'm a problem she's trying to figure out. I smile toward her, but I'm feeling more and more unsure about why I'm really here.

Then she asks the million dollar question, "Then why are you here, other than delivering a crappy apology?"

After I clean up all of the supplies I turn back toward her and stretch. I see her staring again at my stomach and I smirk to myself. I know she's at least physically attracted.

"Maybe I'm just curious why she's so enamored," I say "Dee doesn't take well to strangers. None of us do."

"I had a dog once that didn't take well to strangers."

The comment is so off the wall that it makes me laugh. A real guttural laugh, deep and rumbling. I see her staring at me then quickly she looks away. She probably thinks I'm some kind of player that takes girls and uses them for my pleasure and then discards them. Little does she know.

She clears her throat and looks back at me, "Well, thanks for the car thing."

I move toward her, fast. Faster than I probably should have. But I can't let her go yet. I need her eyes on me. I move so close to her that we are touching. She has to strain her neck to look up at me.

"How do you move so fast?" she asks breathless.

"My little sis does seem to like you," I say.

"Little? You're twins."

"I was born a whole four minutes and thirty seconds before she was," I say meeting her eyes. "Technically she is my little sister."

"She's the baby of the family?" she asks through a hoarse whisper.

"Yep, therefore I'm the one starved for attention," I say.

"I guess that explains your poor attitude then," she says.

I snicker, I can't help myself she makes me laugh, "Maybe, but most people find me charming."

She looks up into my eyes. She really looks at me and she seems just as lost as I am in this moment. We are so close, and her smell is still just as intoxicating as it was days ago. But now it's just the smell of peaches and vanilla overwhelming my senses. When she finds her voice she's quiet.

"I have… a hard time believing that."

I smile, "You shouldn't, Kat." I look deep into her stormy gray eyes that seem to show confusion and desire behind them. They are different and beautiful. I take a stray clump of hair that has escaped her clip and twirl it around my fingers. Her hair is so soft. "What kind of color is this? It's not brown or blonde."

She snatches her hair from my fingers and moves it behind her ear. "It's called light brown."

"Hmm," I say. But what I want to say is how beautiful it is and how soft. Everything about her is so different and unique. Snapping myself out of it I say, "You and I have plans to make."

"What?" she asks, moving away from me. I already miss the warmth she radiates. "We don't have any plans to make."

I move back and sit on her porch steps, stretching out again.

"Comfortable?" she snaps at me.

"Very," I say. "About these plans…"

She quickly cuts me off, "What are you talking about?"

"You remember the whole 'getting my ass over here and playing nice' thing, right?" I ask, stretching out more and leaning back. "That also involves my car keys? Those plans involve me getting my car keys back."

"You need to give me a little more of an explanation that that."

"Of course," I sigh. "Dee hid my keys. She's good at hiding stuff, too. I've already torn the house apart, and I can't find them."

"So, make her tell you where they are," she says.

"Oh, I would, if she were here. But she's left town and won't be back until Sunday."

"What?" she asks, clearly upset. "I didn't know that."

"It was a last-minute thing," I explain. "And the only way she'll tell me where the keys are hidden is by me earning bonus points. See, my sister has this thing about bonus points, ever since elementary school."

She smiled, a pretty smile that stretches across her face. She must really like my sister for her to get the warm and fuzzies from my sister's stupid bonus points. "Okay…?"

"I have to earn bonus points to get my keys back," I explain. "The only way I can earn those points is by doing something nice for you."

She started laughing, a melodic sound resounds through the area. "I'm sorry, but this is kind of funny."

I glare toward her but smirk, "Yeah, real funny."

"What do you have to do?" she asks through her fading laughter.

"I'm supposed to take you swimming tomorrow. If I do that, then she'll tell me where my keys are hidden- and I have to be nice."

She stares at me in shock, realizing that I'm not kidding, she says, "So the only way you get your keys back is by taking me swimming and by being nice to me?"

"Wow. You're a quick one," I say sarcastically.

She lets out another laugh, "Yeah, well, you can kiss your keys good-bye."

I look at her with surprise, "Why?"

"Because I'm not going anywhere with you."

"We don't have a choice." I may be hotwiring my car after all…

"No. You don't have a choice, but I do."

She glances back toward the house. I'm now wondering if her mother is in there. If she is then I can use her to make Kat go with me.

"I'm not the one with missing keys," she finishes.

I give her my best grin and ask, "You don't want to hang out with me?"

"Uh, no."

"Why not?"

"For starters, you're a jerk," she says rolling her eyes.

"I can be," I agree.

"And I'm not spending time with a guy who's being forced to do it by his sister. I'm not desperate."

"You're not?" I retort. Immediately the fury rises in her face and the flush is back. Not the embarrassed flush, but the flush of anger. I think I like the angry flush better than the embarrassed flush.

"Get off my porch," she growls at me.

I look at her and my mouth turns up in a crooked smirk, "No."

"What?" she almost shouts. "What do you mean no?"

"I'm not leaving until you agree to go swimming with me."

"Fine," she spats. "You can sit there, because I'd rather eat glass than spend time with you."

Damn, overdramatic much? "That sounds drastic."

"Not nearly." She starts to try to walk past me toward her front door. As she walks up the steps I catch her ankle and hold tight. I make sure that I don't use my full strength, but it's enough that she can't possibly move me no matter how hard she tries. She looks down at me, furious now. I smile.

"I'll sit here all day and night. I'll camp out on your porch. And I won't leave. We have all week, Kitten. Either get it over with tomorrow and be done with me, or I'll be right here until you do agree. You won't be able to leave the house."

She gaped at me. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, I am." She has no idea how stubborn I really can be. Especially when I want something… or someone.

"Just tell her we went and that I had a great time." She tries to get away from me. "Lie."

I could do that. Dee wouldn't know, especially if Kat backs it up, but I don't want to. I want to do this. "She'll know if I'm lying. We're twins. We know these things. Or are you too shy to go swimming with me? Does the idea of getting almost naked around me make you uncomfortable?"

She yanks her foot again, but I still won't let her go, "I'm from Florida, idiot. I've spent half my life in a bathing suit."

"What's the big deal then?"

"I don't like you," she spits back. "Let go of my ankle."

"I'm not leaving, Kitten. You're going to do this," I say, lifting one finger at a time from her ankle.

When my last finger is lifted and her ankle is free, the front door opens and her mother steps out. She's an older version of Katy, but with blond hair. Katy's body is curvier and sexier than the older woman's too. Her mother is kind of lanky, but pretty. Katy's eyes widen as she looks upon her mother.

"You live next door?" she asks.

I twist around and smile. "My name is Daemon Black."

"Kellie Swartz. Nice to meet you. You two can come inside if you want. You don't have to sit outside in the heat."

"That's really nice of you." I stand and elbow Katy, "Maybe we should go inside and finish talking about our plans." I've got her now, and I know it. I smirk at her.

"No. That won't be necessary," Katy retorts.

"What plans? I support plans." I got her.

"I'm trying to get your lovely daughter to go swimming with me tomorrow, but I think she's worried you wouldn't like the idea. And I think she's shy," I say with a smile, bumping Katy.

"What? I have no problem with her going swimming with you. I think it's a great idea. I've been telling her she needs to get out. Hanging out with your sister is great, but…"

"Mom," Kat shouts, "That's not really…"

"I was just telling Katy here the same thing." I place my arm across her shoulders and pull her closer to me. The feel of her skin humming with mine is almost unnerving, almost. "My sister is out of town for the next week. I thought I'd hang with Katy."

Her mother smiles at me then her daughter, "That is so sweet of you."

Kat wraps her arm around my waste and tries to dig her fingers into my side, little does she know that it won't affect me. "Yeah, that so sweet of you Daemon," she says with sarcasm dripping from every word.

I take in a breath, "You know what they say about boys next door…"

"Well, I know Katy doesn't have plans tomorrow." Her mother says, "She's free to go swimming."

She wiggles away from me, "Mom…"

"It's okay, honey." Her mother winks at me and turns away. I smirk a little, human women are so easily smitten with good looks. "It was nice to finally meet you."

"You, too," I call back.

As soon as her mother closes the door, Katy turns toward me with a death glare. She tries to push me, but I don't move. I just smirk at her attempt.

"You jerk."

Smiling at my triumph, I take a few steps from the porch. "I'll see you at noon, Kitten."

"I hate you," she hisses at me.

"The feeling's mutual," I retort. "Twenty bucks says you wear a one-piece swimsuit."  
She growls and turns away from me.

I move across the yard and back into my house. Thinking back, I don't know why I was so adamant about going swimming, but I got my way, and I'm actually kind of excited about this.


	5. Chapter 5

I wake to the sound of my phone buzzing by my head. Groggily I look at the display and sigh. Dee, calling to check up and make sure I'm playing nice with neighbor girl. Part of me hates that she's making me do this, but part of me doesn't know want to admit to feeling anything more than annoyance for the girl. I grab the phone before it goes to voice mail and answer it.

"Hello?" I say in a gruff, sleepy voice.

"Daemon, are you really still sleeping? It's like quarter after eleven."

"Yeah, so?"

"Did you get Katy to do something with you?" she asks in an excited childlike tone.

I sigh, "Yeah, I'm taking her swimming at the lake. Is that good enough for you?"

She squeals, the sound reverberates through the phone causing a ringing in my ear. "Dee is that really necessary?" I ask.

"Yes, I'm so excited. You will see, she's great."

"Yeah, whatever. I have to go if I'm going to be showered and ready in time to go get her," I tell her.

"When are you going?"

"I told her I'd pick her up at noon. How are things there?"

"I don't know. I just have a hard time looking at Adam the way that everyone wants me to. And I don't think that Adam likes me like that either. Really it's the most uncomfortable feeling. Why aren't they doing this with you and Ash?"

"They think Ash and I are still together, that's why. I'm sure I'll hear about it when they figure out that I'm going to refuse to commit to her."

"Really? Daemon, how are you just going to refuse?"

"Easy, I won't do it. I'm going to college, I'm going to do what I want." I hope she hears this and gives doing her own thing some thought. She has plenty of time to commit to another Luxen, whether it's Adam or not. "Well Dee, if I'm going to get my keys back I've got to go get ready."

She laughs, "Call me when you get home."

"Will do. Be nice to Adam."

I hang up the phone and move immediately into the shower. I emerge from the shower with the towel draped low on my hips and think about what I bet Kitten. I wonder if she's going to challenge me or if she will be modest. Part of me hopes for daring, I'd love to get a good look at her body.

I slide on my swim trunks and pull my jeans on over top. I pull out a tight tee-shirt that shows my muscles. Not that I need to show off for her, she's already seen my bare chest, but I want to make her want me. I put on my sneaks and go to the kitchen to get something to eat before I leave.

At quarter to twelve I hear the sound of a car door closing. I look out the door and see her mother pulling down the drive way. I guess now is as good a time as any to get this day started.

I quickly move over to Katy's house and bang on the front door. I stand at the door waiting with my towel over my shoulder. When she opens the door, I take in the sight before me. Another tight tank top and short jean shorts. There is a hint of a red string poking out from the back of her shirt.

"I'm a little early."

"I can see," she said. "Change your mind? You could always try lying."

I arch my brow at her and smirk, "I'm not a liar."

"Just give me a second to grab my stuff," she says.

Before I can even reply, she slams the door in my face. Probably trying to piss me off. When she returns with her things, I'm standing where I was when she shut the door. Not a trace of anger or annoyance in me. Even though that little act did annoy me.

I turn and start walking down the driveway with Katy walking behind me.

"Okay, so where are you taking me?" she asks.

"What fun would it be if you knew? You won't be surprised then," I say.

"I'm new to town, remember? Everywhere is going to be a surprise for me."

"Then why ask," I say flatly.

"We aren't driving?" she asks.

I laugh, "No. Where we're going you can't drive. It's not a well-known spot. Most local don't even know about it."

"Oh, I'm special then."

"You know what I think, Kat?" I ask her. But does she really want to know what I think? I lock my gaze on her and take all of her in. I do think she might just be special. There is definitely something different about her, that I know for sure.

"I'm pretty sure I don't want to know," she says when her eyes find mine. She flushes with the intensity of my gaze.

"I think my sister finds you very special. I'm starting to wonder if she's onto something." I'm completely serious about this. I'm not sure why I'm telling her, but for some reason sense and sensibility go out the window when I'm around her.

She seems to think about this for a moment and then she smirks, "But then there's all kinds of special now, isn't there, Daemon?"

I look at her startled. Apparently I've been so nasty that she can't take me seriously when I say something nice about her. This is going to be much more difficult than I originally thought.

I continued down the road and crossed the main highway. We enter the dense forest line and begin down the path toward the lake.

"Are you taking me out to the woods as a trick?" she asks.

I look over my shoulder at her, she has a worried look on her face. "And what would I do out here to you, Kitten?" I ask in a seductive voice.

She visibly shivers, making me snicker. "The possibilities are endless," she says quietly.

"Aren't they?"

I move deeper in the woods, dodging the thick brush and vines that have stretched over the path. Behind me, Katy was tripping over almost everything that was in the way.

"Can we pretend we did this?" she asks.

"Trust me, I don't want to be doing this either," that's a lie. I want this time with her. I want to try to see what Dee sees and I want to see if there is a real reason that I feel something when I'm around her, or if it's just because she's new. "But bitching about it isn't going to make it any easier."

I turn around and offer my hand to her to help her over the brush.

"You're such a joy to talk to," she says hesitating but then taking my hand. The same vibrating of electricity that I felt yesterday is there again. I help her over the downed tree then drop her hand.

"Thank you," she says quietly. I turn away and smile to myself. The blush is back on her face.

I continue walking and we remain silent for a few minutes before I break the silence, "Are you excited about school?"

She audibly breathes in "It's not exciting being the newbie. You know, the whole sticking out like a sore thumb. Not fun."

"I can see that."

"You can?"

"Yeah, I can," I say. We've moved enough to know what that feels like. It sucks, it especially sucks for us. But I can see why it would such for her too. "We only have a little bit more to go."

"A little bit? How long have been walking?" she asks.

"About twenty minutes, maybe a little longer. I told you it was fairly hidden."

I move over another uprooted tree and once I clear it, the lake stretches out before me. "Welcome to our little piece off paradise," I say, a sarcastic twist to my lips.

She walks past me and her eyes widen, a smile playing on her full lips. "Wow. This place is beautiful."

"It is," I say, stepping up next to her. I look around and take it all in. This really is my personal piece of paradise, it's untouched my human hands. It's perfect. I stand next to her for a moment and she does something that completely surprises me. She reaches up and places her hand on my arm. The familiar vibration moves from her hand to my arm, if I didn't know better I'd think she was a Luxen too.

"Thank you for bringing me," she says, sincerity in her eyes.

I lock my eyes with hers, but a moment later she removes her hand and lets it drop to her side. She looks out over the area surrounding the lake. A circular outcropping of trees surrounds the grassy area around the lake, making it seem even more cut off from civilization than it already is. It's almost like going back to another time. Rocks erupt from the middle of the lake, flat and smooth. Wild flowers blooming in the sun. It's the most peaceful place I know.

She walks up to the edge of the water and stares down, "How deep is it?"

"About ten feet in most parts, twenty feet on the other side of the rocks." I walk quietly up behind her. "Dee love it here. Before you came, she spent more of her days here."

"You know, I'm not going to get your sister in trouble."

Little does she know that it's almost inevitable that she is going to cause one of us to get in trouble. Not the kind of trouble that she's thinking about, but the kind of trouble that gets someone hurt or killed. I don't want to argue right now though. This place isn't about that. So I only say, "We'll see."

"I'm not a bad influence," she pushes. She seems to really be reaching for my approval. Like she knows that if I push hard enough, Dee will finally listen to me. "I haven't ever gotten into trouble before."

I move past her and keep my gaze one the water, "She doesn't need a friend like you." And she doesn't. Humans are nothing but trouble for us that I'm sure of.

"There isn't anything wrong with me," she snaps. "You know what? Forget this."

No there's nothing wrong with her, other than the fact that she human. I think about the past few days and about this girl. Why do I find her to be different from most humans? Why do I feel like she could actually be trusted? I think back to the day she and Dee planted the garden.

"Why do you garden?" I blurt out.

She stops and looks at me, surprised. "What?"

"Why do you garden? Dee said you do it so you don't think. What do you want to avoid thinking about?"

The surprise is still stretched across her face. She can't figure out why I'm asking and quite frankly I'm not even totally sure.

"It's none of your business."

I shrug. "Then let's go swimming."

I walk to the water's edge and kick off my shoes. Even though my back is to her, I can feel her eyes on me, watching me, taking me in. I like that she's watching me, that she wants to look at me like that. I'd never admit it, but there is an undeniable attraction between us that I hope I'll be able to continue to ignore. I slide my jeans off, revealing my green swim trunks, then I whip off my black shirt and throw it into the pile of clothes. I move smoothly toward the water, feeling her eyes burning into me as I move. Once I reach the water's edge, I dive in and quickly swim toward the middle of the lake where I surface and turn to find her standing, watching.

I stare back at her for a moment before speaking. "Are you coming in?"

Her cheeks flush and she stands there gaping at me. She moves slowly toward the edge of the water and begins to gradually remove her shoes. She looks around the lake, everywhere but where I'm bobbing in the water.

"You sure are shy, aren't you Kitten?"

"Why do you call me that?"

I smile, "Because it makes your hair stand up, like a kitten." I laugh a little at her expression. A combination of annoyance and intrigue flashing in her eyes. "So? Are you coming in?"

I continue to watch her, curiosity peeking through me. I move slowly back toward the shore line where she's standing. "I'm giving you one minute to get in here."

"Or what?" she challenges.

Moving closer, "Or I come and get you."

"I'd like to see you try."

I snicker, I could be out of this lake and have her swept up in my arms before she even realized what I was doing. But I can't do that, so I say, "Forty seconds."

She rubs her face, looking at me like she doesn't want to believe that I would actually do it, but not really wanting to challenge me either.

"Thirty seconds."

"Jesus," she says quietly, whipping off her tank top, revealing the bright red, barely there bikini top. Guess I was wrong about the one piece. She sheds her shorts and stands there for a moment. I take in every inch of her perfect body, the tiny red bikini leaving nothing to the imagination. Red always was my favorite color, but now… Wow!

She steps toward the edge of the water and I'm completely speechless, which never happens. Not even Ash looks this good in a bikini. She places her hands on her hips and looks at me, "Happy?"

I wipe the stupid smile off of my face and bring back my nasty attitude. I can't let her know how much she affects me. "I'm never happy around you." And I'm not, but not for the reason that she'll think, it's because she is something that I can never have, and that pisses me off.

"What did you say?" she asks, challenging me.

"Nothing. You better get in before that blush reaches your toes," I snicker.

Blushing even more she moves to the water. She slowly moves in, letting the water lap over her body. I don't take my eyes off of her, completely transfixed by her perfection.

Before her body is fully in the water, she looks around and smiles. "It's beautiful out here."

I watch her for another moment, our eyes meeting momentarily before I submerge under the water to cool myself off. The attraction I feel for her is completely unreasonable. How can I possibly feel like this about a human? Yeah, she's beautiful and yeah, she's completely unlike any other girl that I've ever met, but she's human. She's not one of us, and that makes her dangerous, for more reasons than I'd like to admit. When I emerge from under the water, she's still standing, water lapping against her breasts. But as soon as our eyes meet once again, she goes under. When she pops back up, the water glistening on her hair and face, I can't help but stare at her. My heart hammering in my chest I watch her wading in the water.

"What?" she asks after a few moments.

I don't know what comes over me, but I feel the desperate need to eliminate the space between us. I want to wrap my arms around her perfect body and feel her soft curves pressed against me.

"Why don't you come here?" She looks at me for a moment, like she's contemplating why I could possibly want her to move closer to me. She makes her decision and dips her head under the water and swimming toward the rocks in the center of lake. She pulls herself onto the rocks and looks toward me.

"You look disappointed," she says.

I pause then mumble, "Well… what do we have here?"

I look at her, confusion and curiosity taking over my thoughts. Most human girls don't act like her. They usually throw themselves at me. Hell, even Ash throws herself at me. If I pay them even the slightest bit of attention, they flock to me. But this girl isn't doing that, she's not flaunting herself or trying to be overtly sexy or anything. I mean, damn that bikini is hot as hell, but she's not trying too hard and that makes her even more appealing.

She dangles her feet from the rock, into the water. "What are you talking about now?"

"Nothing," I say, wading closer to her.

"You said something."

"I did, didn't I?" Being evasive, I refuse to acknowledge what she's saying.

"You're strange," she says, a smile playing across her lips. If she only knew how strange I really am.

"You're not what I expected," I say quietly. She nothing like what I expected. I expected the typical human girls that I've been around. They've all been the same, from Nevada to New York to West Virginia and everywhere we've been in between since arriving on this planet. Every girl has been the same with Dawson and me. As soon as we hit what the humans refer to as puberty and we reached the height of our maturity, the girls have all been the same. Flaunting themselves, trying to get our attention, doing whatever they could just to be near us. They act the same way with Andrew and Adam also.

"What does that mean?"

Apparently I didn't say the words quietly enough. I grab for her foot to pull her back into the water with me. She moves her foot out of my reach and looks at me.

"I'm not good enough to be your sister's friend?"

I sigh, it's not her, it's us. We have to protect ourselves… "You don't have anything in common with her."

"How would you know?" she asks, moving her other leg when I try to grab for it. I want her back in the water with me. I want to put my hands on her bare skin and feel her softness. I want to feel the strange vibration that I feel when I touch her.

"I know," I assure her.

"We have a lot in common. And I like her. She's nice and she's fun. And you should stop being such a dick and chasing off her friends."

I stare at her for a moment, shocked. She really is nothing like any human I've ever met. It's almost like she's something more. Like she more in tune with what is around her and not so self-involved. She reminds me a lot of Bethany. There was something about her that Dawson took to. He always said she was more than any human he ever met. I laugh, "You're not really like them."

"Like who?" she asks.

I don't answer, I just submerge myself into the depths of the lake. Staying down I think about what is happening. She's definitely not like any human I've ever met, and not like any girl, human or Luxen either. She's beautiful, willing to fight for a friendship that she's only had for days, she's not intimidated by me, and I bet she wouldn't be intimidated by anyone else either. Down here, in the depths of the lake I can admit to myself that I like her, more than I should. I still have to find a way to keep her from my sister, but I don't think I'll be able to do that. Just like I don't think I'll be able to keep myself away from her for long. Now I understand what Dawson felt when he was with Bethany. Now I understand why he was willing to give up everything to be with her. But am I willing to do that for Katy? I don't know. My first priority is my family, that includes the Thompsons and Matthew. What would happen to them if I decided to give everything up, my community, my life for this girl? What would happen to Dee? No, I can't do it. I have to push her away, no matter how hard it is.

After some time of swimming along the bottom of the lake, I resurface to find a frantic Katy.


	6. Chapter 6

When I resurface, Katy is franticly calling my name. When she sees me, relief and surprise cover her face. I pull myself out of the water and onto the rock that she's standing on.

"Are you okay? You look a little freaked out," I say, confused about why she looks so scared.

She grabs a hold of my shoulders and looks at me like she's trying to make sure that I'm real. "Are you okay?" she asks. "What happened?" She smacks me in the arm and looks pissed now. "Don't you ever do that again!" she shouts.

I hold my hands up, totally bewildered as to why she would be afraid. "Whoa there, what is your problem?"

"You were under the water for so long," she said. Oh shit. I forgot that I'm not here with Dee. She expected me to surface for air. I must have been down there almost ten minutes. No wonder she's freaking out. She thought I drowned or something. It did look like she was ready to jump in to find me or something.

"I thought you drowned! Why would you do that? Why would you scare me like that? You were under the water forever," she keeps ranting. The look of terror leaving her and anger surfacing.

"I wasn't down there that long. I was swimming," I try to calm her. Dammit, I didn't mean to do that. Way to go Daemon, way to be the one to make her suspicious. This is why I can't be around humans. Shit what am I going to do if I can't convince her that she's mistaken? She's much more intuitive than any other human, she may never believe it.

"No, Daemon, you were down there a long time. It was at least ten minutes! I looked for you, called for you. I… I thought you were dead." Seeing the tears building in her eyes makes me feel horrible. I didn't mean for this to happen.

I stand on the rock next to her and look down at her. "It couldn't have been ten minutes. That's not possible. No one can hold their breath that long," I try to reason. Clearly I'm alive, that should be enough reason for her to believe that she's mistaken.

"You apparently can," she argues.

Surprised that she is so upset I look at her, "You were really worried, weren't you?" This makes me like her even more. She worried about me. No one, other than Dee and Dawson has ever worried about me like that.

"No shit! What part of 'I thought you drowned' don't you understand?" Her body visibly shaking from fear. I feel so bad that I made her feel this way.

"Kat, I came up. You must not have seen me. I went right back down," I try to reason. I can't have her thinking that I was down for that long.

She looks at me skeptically, like she doesn't believe a word I'm saying. Still trying to convince her that she's wrong I ask, "Does this happen often?"

I don't mean to try to make her feel like she's crazy, but I have to find a way to diffuse this.

"Does what?"

"Imagining things. Or do you have a horrible issue with telling time."

Now I'm just being a dick again. If I piss her off maybe she'll forget that she was worried. Or maybe she'll forget that I was out of sight for so long. I don't really want to make her feel like this, but I have to. Shit…

"I wasn't imagining anything! And I know how to tell time, you jerk."

"Then I don't know what to tell you," I say, stepping toward her. "I'm not the one imagining that I was underwater for ten minutes when it was like two minutes tops. You know, maybe I'll buy you a watch the next time I'm in town, when I have my keys back."

Pissing her off and reminding her of why she thinks I'm doing this might help to make her forget my mistake.

"Well, make sure you tell Dee we had a wonderful time so that you can get your stupid keys back," she growls at me. "Then we won't need a replay of today."

What she doesn't understand is I want a replay of today. I want to spend time with her. She's more than I ever expected her to be, and I want to explore what that means, almost as much as I want to keep my family safe. I look at her and can't help the smile that spreads across my face. The flush of anger and annoyance is all over her face. "That's on you, Kitten. I'm sure she'll call you later and ask."

"You'll have you keys. I'm ready…" She takes a step, but her foot slips on the wet rock. She's thrown off balance, ready to topple into the pond or worse yet, smack her head off of the rock before falling into the water.

Moving faster than I probably should have, especially since she's already questioning my superhuman abilities, I grab her hand and pull her to me. I pull her into my chest and wrap my arm around her waist. I didn't need to bring her into me like this, but I wanted to. I wanted to see if that vibration of electricity is still there when our bodies touch, and it is. More than it ever has been before. The soft, supple skin of her stomach and chest pressed against the hardness of mine almost makes me lose control. She sends off so much electrical power in her touch, if I didn't know better I would think she's one of us.

"Careful there, Kitten. Dee would be pissed at me if you end up cracking your head open and drowning," I whisper.

Our bodies still pressed to one another, neither of us moves away from the other. The warm tingle I feel with her body pressed to mine, the warmth radiating from her, and the power moving between the two of us makes my heart rate pick up and my breaths become shallow. It's like my body has found its missing piece and it is reacting to something in her.

Neither of us speaking, we stand there, soaking the other in. I take in a deep breath, trying to calm my ragged heartbeat. I take a step back from her and release her waist. Immediately I feel cold and like I've lost a part of myself. After a moment of calming myself I clear my throat. "I think it's time we head back."

She nods, a look of disappointment flashing across her face. I want nothing more than to tell her what I'm really feeling and not act like I'm expected to act. But I can't. I still have to make her never want to be around us. I have to make her think that being friends with Dee isn't worth it. I have to.

I dive back into the lake and swim for the bank where our clothes and towels are sitting. I hear the splash of her following behind me.

Without a word, I pull myself on the bank and offer her my hand to help her. The electrical vibration still there, even with only a small part of our skin touching. Neither of us speaks as we dry off and dress. We begin our walk back home in silence. Me thinking about her body pressed against mine and wondering what that really means. I've never felt that with anyone before. I've never met anyone like her before.

When we reach the driveway, I can't hold my feelings in anymore. I know this means exile, danger for myself and maybe even Dee. But then I see Matthew's car in my driveway and I curse under my breath. What the fuck does he want from me now?

I turn to Katy and look at her. She looks worried, like she's ready to have to defend herself against someone other than me. I hate that I make her feel that way. "Kat, I…" I start to say. I'm not even completely sure of what I was going to say. Maybe just that I had to go. But then the screen door slams off the house, and that sends me into an unparalleled anger. How dare he come here slamming things in my house.

I turn and glare toward Matthew as he comes down the steps toward us. He has light brown hair, he's a couple inches shorter than me, and is dressed much nicer than is necessary for August. Doesn't he own a pair of shorts or a tee-shirt? Matthew can be so stuffy and annoying sometimes.

Matthew returns my glare. I almost want to laugh at his feeble attempt to be intimidating.

"What is going on here?" he asks.

"Absolutely nothing," I say flatly. I fold my arms and glare at him. "Since my sister is not home, I'm curious as to why you're in my house?"

"I let myself in. I didn't realize that would be a problem."

"It is now, Matthew," I spat at him.

Matthew turns his glare at Kat now and I want to put myself in front of him and shield her from his stare. "Of all people, I'd think you'd know better, Daemon."

I growl, tension building in me as I never take my glare from Matthew. "Matthew, if you value the ability to walk, I wouldn't go there."

"I think I should go," Kat says meekly from behind me.

Without taking my eyes from Matthew I move in front of her. "I'm thinking Matthew should go, unless he has another purpose other than sticking his nose where it doesn't belong."

"I'm sorry," she says. Her voice nervous and breaking, "but I don't know what's going on here. We were just swimming."

Matthew sends me another glare and it take every ounce of my self-control to not snap him in half. I wish she wouldn't have spoken. Now I'm going to have to calm his sorry ass down before he starts spouting off about things he knows nothing about. Shit…

"It's not what you're thinking. Give me some credit. Dee hid my keys, forced me to take her out to get them back."

I can feel her stiffen behind me. I didn't really want to make her feel bad, but I have to make Matthew back off.

He laughs a little, "So this is Dee's little friend."

"That would be me," Kat says firmly, crossing her arms glaring at the older man. Damn, she's not afraid of anyone.

"I thought you had this under control. That you'd make your sister understand."

"Yeah, well, why don't you try to make her understand? So far, I'm not having much luck." Especially when I want to be around her as much as Dee does.

Matthew presses his lips together, "Both of you should know better."

Anger starts building in me more and more until lightning streaks overhead and the crack of thunder sounds through the valley. Clouds roll in, covering the once perfect summer day. Electricity crackles through the sky and all around us as I stand there and glare at Matthew. He looks at me, fear in his eyes. He turns away from me and goes back to the house, sending one last dark look toward Kat. He slams the door.

When he's out of my sight, the clouds part and the sunny day starts to return. Shit, what did I just do that for?

"What… what just happened?" she asks.

I don't say a word, I just leave her standing there gaping at me. I slam the door off of the house again, signaling how pissed off I am right now, both at Matthew and myself.

Matthew stands inside waiting for me. "What the hell was that? What do you think you're doing?"

"It's none of your damn business, Matthew. Why are you here?"

"I came to talk to you about what is happening with Dee. She's refusing to be with Adam. She's talking about college in Europe and living her life."

"Yeah, well maybe she should be allowed to live her life the way she wants and not be a bitch for the Luxen. She's not an animal to be bred."

"And what the hell are you doing spending time with that girl. After Dawson…"

"If you value your life, you wouldn't finish that sentence. What I do is none of your business."

"I'm your guardian…"

"You haven't been my guardian for years, Matthew. I have lived on my own and taken care of this family since I was fifteen."

"Yeah, a lot of good that did, you lost…"

Before he could finish that sentence, I was in my natural form and swooping down on him. His face paled and he was visibly worried. "What happened with Dawson had nothing to do with my ability to take care of this family. Now get out."

Matthew looked at me, "Daemon, I shouldn't have…"

Returning to my human form, I glare at him. "No, you shouldn't have. Now get the fuck out of my house."

Without another word, Matthew leaves.

I slump on my couch, drained from my little weather show and from my anger. What am I going to do about the girl next door?


	7. Chapter 7

When Dee called me later that evening I insisted that everything was fine with my little outing with Katy. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I had more fun being with that girl than I have in a long time. Ash is never willing to hike through the woods with me, she would never go to the lake, and she would never allow me to surprise her with anything. She would whine and complain the entire time until I gave in and told her what we were doing. But Katy didn't do that. She didn't hesitate to go through the woods and she didn't hesitate to get into the water, once she got up her nerve to show her bathing suit, and what a bathing suit it was. I mean damn, how am I supposed to force myself to stay away from her knowing how perfect her body is, how she felt in my arms, and how our bodies hummed at the same frequency?

Dee was so thrilled that I went out with Katy that she didn't even complain when I told her that she needed to try to give Adam a chance. Of the Thompson triplets, Adam is by far the nicest. He isn't a human hater like Andrew and he isn't shallow and controlling like Ash. I think she and Adam would be a good fit if she ever looked beyond duty and actually gave him a chance, lord knows Adam would be in his glory if she actually looked at him once.

Over the next week I stayed away from the girl next door, trying to convince myself that humans are nothing but trouble. But meeting this girl has made me rethink what happened with Dawson when he met Bethany. From the moment she walked into school, he had eyes for no one else. The sun rose and set with her. She was sweet and kind, a perfect match for Dawson, and she was patient, even with me. She didn't care how nasty I was, she loved my brother and he loved her too. Everyone in our community wants to blame Bethany for what happened to her and Dawson. The day they went out to the movies she was glowing like sun, so something big happened around her and everyone knew it. So when we got a message that he and Bethany were found dead, everyone automatically blamed her for being so close to him. She drew an Aurum straight to him and he couldn't defend himself, but something about that just doesn't sit right with me. He was strong and almost as good a fighter as I am. He should have been able to handle the Aurum.

But his feelings for Bethany and how quickly he just knew she was the girl for him was so strange. He once told me that he just felt something when he touched her, something he'd never felt before with anyone. It's kind of what I felt when I had Kat in my arms at the lake. Her body hummed and vibrated against mine. The electrical pulses that moved from her skin to mine was something that I've never felt before. It was amazing, but also quite unnerving.

The few times I caught sight of her coming and going from her house, weeding her garden, and sitting on her porch, reading. I didn't try to talk to her, opting to hide in the shadows and steal glimpses. She's beautiful, her long brown hair, her startling eyes that seem to change color, her perfect body. Just thinking about her body brings back memories of her wrapped in my arms and how she felt pressed against me.

Without realizing how I got there, I found myself on her porch knocking on her front door on Saturday. I had just been thinking about her and like a possessed man being controlled by a puppet master, I didn't realize I was on her porch until I knocked. I turned and stood on the top step, trying to decide if I should take off before she answered or wait. I stared at the sky finding the first signs of evening appearing. What people believe to be the first stars appearing in the night sky, but are actually Venus and other planets visible before all of those foreign galaxies appear. When she opened the door, I didn't move, I barely breathed. I heard her step outside, I could feel her gaze boring into me as I stood without acknowledging her. When she came into my peripheral vision, she looked startled to see me standing in front of her, like I was going to yell at her again or be rude.

I quickly turn my head and looked down at her. Standing there in her tight little tank top and short denim shorts, her long, tan, shapely legs seeming to go on forever… What am I thinking? I've been here for all of a minute and already my mind is wandering and my eyes are taking every part of her body and committing it to memory.

"What are you doing?" she asks.

I continued taking her in, her perfection, her beauty. I smirked just a little and turned my eyes back to the sky. "I like staring at the sky. There's something about it. It's endless, you know."

She stood there looking at me like I'm crazy, if she only knew that looking at the sky made me feel like I actually belong somewhere instead of feeling like an intruder in someone else's house.

"Is some crazy dude going to run out of your house and yell at you for talking to me?"

I snicker to myself, "Not right now, but there is always later."

She scowls and her eyes dance in the light of the early evening sun. "I'm okay missing 'later'"

I couldn't agree more, "Yeah. Busy?"

"Other than messing with my blog, no."

I already knew about her blog from Dee and I've already checked it out, but I don't want her to know that. I'm not even sure why I'm here right now, this isn't staying away from her like I'm supposed to. How am I supposed to keep Dee away if I can't keep myself away? Damn, this girl doesn't know what she's doing to me, and she hasn't done anything other than stand up to me and be beautiful.

"You have a blog?" I turn leaning against the post.

She looks at me with annoyance in her features, almost like I'm insulting her by asking about her blog. "Yeah, I have a blog."

"What's your blog's name?" I ask her, trying to keep the conversation going so she doesn't just turn away and slam the door in my face. Not that I don't deserve just that.

"None of your business," she says and smiles. Her smile is beautiful and sexy and completely consuming.

"Interesting name," I tease. "So what do you blog about? Knitting? Puzzles? Being lonely?" Why am I being such an ass right now? I came to her house, not the other way around. She didn't pursue me, nor did she seek me out. But here I am insulting her, or trying to. But she doesn't take the bait as a matter of fact, she stands a little taller land doesn't divert her eyes from mine.

"Ha. Ha, smartass. I review books," she says proudly. I think I may be in over my head with this girl. She's not intimidated by my douchbagery in the slightest bit.

"Do you get paid for them?" I ask. It's an honest question and would be cool as hell if she did get paid.

"No. Not at all," she laughed like that was the funniest thing she ever heard.

"So you review books and you don't get paid if someone buys a book based on your review?"

She seems to think about this for a moment, "I don't review books to get paid or anything. I do it because I like it. I love reading, and I enjoy talking about books."

Keeping the conversation going, and trying to learn more about her I ask, "What kind of books do you read?"

"All different kinds," she says. She leans against the post across from me and looks at me with curiosity in her eyes. I know I'm confusing her. First I try to piss her off, then I try to tell her to stay away from my sister and my house, then I'm here talking to her and asking her about herself. Hell, I'm confusing myself here. What the hell am I doing here?

"Mainly I prefer the paranormal stuff," she says. So she believes in the paranormal stuff? Interesting.

"Vampires and werewolves?"

"Yeah."

Now here's the real question, "Ghosts and aliens?"

"Ghost stories are cool, but I don't know about aliens. ET really doesn't do it for ma and a lot of readers."

I almost laugh out loud. ET is so unrealistic, so are most of the movies that humans create with aliens involved. I mean really, the aliens in 'Independence Day' are so far from realistic and the idea of an entire civilization moving across the universe in huge spaceships is so amazingly farfetched I can't even stomach watching it. No wonder she doesn't like aliens.

"What does it for you?" I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.

"Not slimy green space creatures."

I want to laugh, but I hold it in. "Anyway, I also appreciate graphic novels, history stuff…"

"You read graphic novels?" amazed that she is so diverse and can see greatness in all forms of writing. "Seriously?"

She nods and smiles. I love her smile, it lights up her whole face and her eyes sparkle even more. If I could keep her smiling forever, I would.

"Yeah, so what? Are girls not supposed to like graphic novels and comics?"

I stare are her in amazement. She couldn't possibly be more perfect. Not the typical girly girl that I'm used to from Dee and Ash. She's independent and she's proud of who she is. She's not afraid of being that person either. It's amazing. Most girls question everything about themselves, she's amazingly self-assured.

I jerk my chin toward the woods. "Want to go on a hike?"

"Uh, you know I'm not good with the whole hiking thing," she says and smiles.

I smile back, remembering her tripping and falling all over herself on our way to the lake. The look in her eyes when I smile at her makes my heart race. I'm not sure what she's thinking, but I wish I could be inside of her thoughts. "I'm not taking you up on the Rocks. Just a harmless little trail. I'm sure you can handle it."

"Did Dee not tell you where your keys were?" she asks skeptically. I've given her no reason to believe that I just want to spend time with her, so it's no wonder that she's questioning my motives.

"Yeah, she did."

"Then why are you here?"

Damn, I've been such a dick that I apparently can't just ask her to hang with me without having ulterior motives. I do have ulterior motives, but they are my own and have nothing to do with Dee trying to force me to befriend this girl.

I sigh and look into her eyes, "I don't have a reason. I thought I would just stop over, but if you're going to question everything, then you can forget it."

I start down the steps, hoping that she doesn't let me go far before she follows. I want to spend time with her, getting to know her. She is so different than most human girls, she's different than most humans all together.

"All right, let's do this."

I smile without turning around and looking at her. "Are you sure?"

She doesn't respond, she just follows as I begin walking toward the back of her house toward the woods.

"Why are we going behind my house? The Seneca Rocks are that way. I thought most trails started over there."

"Yeah, but there are trails back here that will take you around and it's quicker. Most people here know all the main trails that are crowded. There used to be a lot of boring days out here, and I found a couple of them off the beaten trail."

I'm not sure why I'm sharing all of these little hidden things I've found around here with her. The lake and now these trails, are things I found and shared with Dawson. We would spend hours exploring these woods together. Dee was never a nature girl, but Dawson and I both loved hiking and spending time in the woods and outside. It's the only place that we could just be us without having to constantly pretend and be perfect for all of the onlookers who love to keep tabs on us.

"How far off the beaten track are we talking?"

"Not that far," I assure her.

"So it's a baby trail? I bet this is going to be boring for you."

If she only knew that I don't care about the trail, I only want to spend time with her.

"Anytime I get to go out and walk around is good. Besides it's not as if we'll hike all the way to Smoke Hole Canyon. That's a pretty big hike from here, so no worries, okay?"

She takes a deep breath and looks at me, "All right, lead the way."

I guide her to my back door and we go in the kitchen and grab a couple water bottles. She follows behind me as I guide her into the woods, silently taking in everything around us. I smile at the thought of her following behind me, not questioning me. Ash would be questioning me about everything if I actually convinced her to walk with me. But Katy doesn't question, she doesn't talk, she just follows without hesitation.

"You're very trusting, Kitten," I say smirking.

"Stop calling me that."

I look behind me and find that I'm several steps in front of her. I guess she can't walk as fast as I can.

"No one has ever called you that before?"

"Yeah, people call me Kitten all the time. But you make it sound so…"

I snicker, "Sound so what?"

"I don't know, like it's an insult. Or something sexually deviant."

Well it's definitely not an insult, that's for sure. I look at her and laugh. The look on her face says that she doesn't know how to take me at all.

"Why are you always laughing at me?"

I shake my head, I'm not laughing at you I want to say. I grin "I don't know, you just kind of make me laugh." Probably because everything about her contradicts what I've always seen and believed about humans, especially human girls.

"Whatever. So what was up with that Matthew dude? He acted as if he hated me or something."

"He doesn't hate you." I try to assure her. But how do I explain that he doesn't think we should associate with anyone who isn't like us, at all. I can't, not without exposing that there is something different about us. I mumble, "He doesn't trust you."

She looks over at me and a look of shock and confusion crosses her face. "Trust me with what? Your virtue?"

I laugh so hard that I have to take a moment before I respond. She is fearless and witty, I love it. "Yeah. He's not a fan of beautiful girls who have the hots for me." Beautiful? Did I really just say that out loud? Well she is beautiful. Probably the most beautiful girl that I've ever met.

"What?" She asked as she tripped and almost fell, but I caught her. Setting her back to her feet, I lingered with my hands on her, feeling her energy and fire pulse through her skin into mine. "You're joking, right?"

I look at her bewildered, "Which part?"

"Any of that?"

Can she possibly not know she's beautiful? Oh god, if she's one of those girls that doesn't even know how pretty she is, I'm in big trouble. "Come on. Please don't tell me you don't think you're pretty." She silent for so long that I'm astonished. How can she have gone through life without a guy, a boyfriend, someone telling her she's pretty? What the hell kind of guys live in Florida? Blind ones? Stupid ones? "No guy has ever said you're pretty?"

She shrugged, "Of course."

"Or… maybe you're not aware of it."

She shrugs her shoulders and doesn't take her eyes off of the ground. Oh no, she has no idea how beautiful she is. Damn, I am in trouble with this girl. Ash and Dee both know they are gorgeous. The human girls that I've hooked up with here and there have all known that they were pretty. But she has no idea how beautiful she is. Like she never believed what she was told. I've never met such a beautiful girl that didn't know what kind of impact she could have on guys or other people around her. Add her beauty to her personality and she's the perfect girl. I can't fall for this girl, I can't. No!

"You know what I've always believed," I say quietly.

"No."

"I've always found that the most beautiful people, truly beautiful inside and out, are the ones who are quietly unaware of their effect." I move closer to her, staring into her beautiful eyes. She has no idea what kind of effect she has on others, on me. "The ones who throw their beauty around, waste what they have? Their beauty is only passing. It's just a shell hiding nothing but shadows and emptiness." Like so many girls that walk around town and school, flaunting themselves for attention. They will never be as gorgeous as girls like Katy.

I stare at her intently, wishing I could explain better. But then she does something so shocking and honestly kind of annoying that I frown at her, she laughs. "I'm sorry, but that was the most thoughtful thing I've ever heard you say. What alien ship took the Daemon I know away, and can I ask them to keep him?"

"I was being honest." It actually kind of hurt that she laughed. But then I've never given her reason to think that I could be thoughtful before. I've only shown my arrogant and rude side. It's not often that I allow myself to be vulnerable like I just did.

"I know, but it's just that was really… wow."

I shrug and turn around. I try not to feel offended by her reaction, but I can't help feeling a little disappointed that I can't show her who I really am. I start to lead us down the trail in silence. Thinking about what I said and her reaction, I also think her reaction had to do with her embarrassment in being told she's beautiful. She really has no idea, at all.

"We won't go too far." Walking along in silence for a few more minutes I think about all of the things I've learned about her in just short time we've been gone. I like her even more now than before.

To keep the conversation going I slow up a little as ask, "So you're interested in history?"

"Yeah, I know that makes me a nerd."

I smile a little, a nerd. She's the prettiest nerd that I've ever met. I think I might like nerds.

"Did you know this land was once traveled by the Seneca Indians?"

She made a face. "Please tell me we aren't walking on any burial grounds."

"Well… I'm sure there are burial grounds around here somewhere. Even though they just traveled through this area, it's not a stretch that some died on this very spot and…"

"Daemon, I don't need to know that part," she says pushing my arm. The spark of power and light ignites the spot that she touched. I look at her, a little confused about why she has this effect on me. No one, not even Ash has had that kind of effect on me. I shake my head and look forward again. "Okay, I'll tell you the story and I'll leave some of the more creepy but natural facts out."

I lift a branch from the path so that she could pass under it. As she passes by me, her shoulder brushes against my chest. The spark tingles through my shirt and across my chest where she touched me. It is almost unnerving and kind of… bizarre.

"What story?"

"You'll see. Now pay attention… A long time ago, this land was forest and hills, which isn't too different than today with the exception of a few small towns." As we walk I clear the path for her so she doesn't stumble. "But imagine this place so sparsely populated that it could take days, even weeks, before you reached your nearest neighbor."

"That seems so lonely," she said quietly.

"But you have to understand that was the way of life hundreds of years ago. Farmers and mountain men lived a few miles away from one another, but the distance was all traveled by foot or horse. It wasn't usually the safest way to travel."

"I can imagine." She's so quiet I almost didn't hear her.

"The Seneca Indian tribe traveled through the eastern part of the United States, and at some point, they walked this very path toward the Seneca Rocks. Did you know that this very small path behind your house leads right to the base of them?" I ask, meeting her gaze.

"No. They always seem so far off in the distance I never thought of them as being close."

"If you stayed on this path for a couple miles you'd find yourself at the base of them. It's a pretty rocky patch even the most experienced rock climbers stay away from. See, the Seneca Rocks spread from Grant to Pendleton County, with the highest point being Spruce Knob and an outcropping near Seneca called Champe Rocks. Now they are kind of hard to get to, since it usually involves invading someone's property, but it can be worth it if you can scale way beyond nine hundred feet in the sky." I can't hide the melancholy sound from my voice. These woods have been the only place I've ever felt more myself, I love it here.

"That sounds like fun," she says. She has a real problem with sarcasm, no wonder I get so snippy with her sometimes. She must realize it though because she immediately gives me a smile like she's trying not to be an ass or whatever.

"It is if you're not afraid of slipping." I laugh when she looks at me with trepidation in her eyes. "Anyway, the Seneca Rocks are made out of quartzite, which is part sandstone. That's why it sometimes has a pinkish tint to it. Quartzite is considered a beta quartz. People who believe in… abnormal powers or powers in… nature, as a lot of Indian tribes did at one time, believe that any form of beta quartz allows energy to be stored and transformed, even manipulated by it. It can throw electronics and other stuff off, to – hide things."

I'm not sure why I'm telling her all of this. Telling her about the quartz and its ability to hide things is dangerously close to telling her about the Luxen and me. It's actually kind of dangerous for me to even talk to her about this.

"Ooo-kay." She says in a disbelieving tone. It annoys me and I let her know it through my look.

"Possibly the beta quartz drew the Seneca Tribe to this area. No one knows since they weren't native to West Virginia. No one knows how long any of them camped here, traded, or made war." I stop and take in my surroundings, imagining this area full of Seneca and possibly my ancestors. "But they do have a very romantic legend."

"Romantic?" she asks, surprised.

"See, there was this beautiful Indian princess called Snowbird, who had asked seven of the tribe's strongest warriors to prove their love by doing something only she had been able to do. Many men wanted to be with her for her beauty and her rank. But she wanted an equal.

"When the day arrived for her to choose her husband, she set forth a challenge so only the bravest and most dedicated warrior would win her hand. She asked her suitors to climb the highest rock with her." I slowed my pace and took the space next to her on the narrow path. I like being here with her. I like sharing these things with her. She was so enthralled with the story, that she was giving me her undivided attention, and I like it. "They all started, but as it became more difficult, three turned back. A fourth became weary and a fifth crumpled in exhaustion. Only two remained, and the beautiful Snowbird stayed in the lead. Finally, she reached the highest point and turned to see who was the bravest and strongest of all warriors. Only one remained a few feet behind her and as she watched, he began to slip."

Glancing sideways at Kat, she has a look of shock and worry on her face.

"Snowbird paused only for a second, thinking that this brave warrior obviously was the strongest, but he was not her equal. She could save him or she could let him slip. He was brave, but he had yet to reach the highest point like she had."

Now Kat looks really upset. "But he was right behind her? How could she just let him fall?"

"What would you do?" I ask. I'd like to know how a man could win her heart.

"Not that I would ever ask a group of men to prove their love by doing something incredibly dangerous and stupid like that, but if I ever found myself in that situation, as unlikely…"

"Kat?" I prompt her. I kind of smile to myself, she really can go off on the tangent about nonsense, can't she?

"I would reach out and save him, of course. I couldn't let him fall to his death."

"But he didn't prove himself."

"That doesn't matter. He was right behind her and how beautiful could you truly be if you let a man fall to his death just because he slipped? How could you even be capable of love or worthy of it, for that matter, if you let that happen?"

I smile a little and nod. I'm so happy to hear her say that. It means more than anything else she could say. It's real and impassioned. "Well, Snowbird thought like you."

She smiled and that smile lit up her entire face. "Good," she said.

"Snowbird decided that the warrior was her equal and with that, her decision had been made. She grabbed the man before he could fall. The chief met them and was very pleased with his daughter's choice in mate. He granted their marriage and made the warrior his successor."

"So is that why the rocks are called Seneca Rocks? After the Indians and Snowbird?"

"That's what the legend says."

"It's a beautiful story, but I think the whole climbing several hundred feet in the air to prove your love is a little excessive."

I laugh, "I'd have to agree with you on that."

"I'd hope so or you'd find yourself playing with cars on an interstate to prove your love nowadays."

I look at her confused for a moment, wondering how she would have a man prove their love for her. "I don't foresee that happening." I tell her.

"Can you get to where the Indians climbed from here?"

"You could get to the canyon, but that serious hiking," I say shaking my head. "Not something I would suggest you doing by yourself."

She laughed a little. "Yeah, I don't think you have to worry about that. I wonder why the Indians came here. Were they looking for something? It's hard to believe that a bunch of rocks brought them here."

If she only understood the power in those rocks, she would understand why they draw people… and others… to them. "You never know." I'm quiet for a few moments then I say, "People tend to look on the beliefs of the past as being primitive and unintelligent, yet we are seeing more truth in the past every day."

She looked over at me, surprise and curiosity dancing across her face. "What was it that made the rocks important again?" she asked.

I study her face for a moment, trying to read her thoughts. "It's the type of rock…" I glance up and see a huge black bear on the rocks behind her, no more than fifteen feet away from us. Eyes widening, I quietly try to get her attention. "Kitten?"

"Would you stop calling me - ?"

"Be quiet," I hiss at her keeping my gaze on the bear behind her. "Promise me you won't freak out."

"Why would I freak out?" she whispers.

I pull her to me, feeling the vibration of power and electricity as she braces herself from falling by placing her hands to my chest. "Have you ever seen a bear?"

Realization passes through her and I can feel it in the way her body stiffens in my embrace.

"What? There's a bear?"

She spun quickly in my arms and stepped back, pressing her back into my chest. She takes in the sight of the monstrous beast before us. The bear stood there, staring at us just like we stood and stared at it. Its huge paws and muscular body beneath its full coat of black fur seemed almost surreal… almost.

Standing perfectly still, arms wrapped around her body, I quickly go through all the possibilities of what could happen in my head. We could run, but she could never outrun it. We could try to wait it out, but that thought is ridiculous, especially when it starts to move toward us.

I take a deep breath, trying to decide what the best thing to do would be. Anything I do can lead to trouble, but it is something that I may not be able to avoid. Shit, I'm going to have to use my power and that is going to leave a trace on her.

"Don't run," I whisper. The bear growls at us, testing if we will run or be easy prey. He rises on his hind legs, and between the ledge he's standing on and his shear height, he towers over us with power and aggression. When the bear roars, I know it's only moments before he mulls us. I start waving my arms and yelling, trying to scare it or something. I know it's not going to work, this bear knows I'm not going to be able to physically harm it.

The bear drops back onto all fours and rushes us. Kat squeezes her eyes shut. Cursing, I take that instant to let out a ball of light from my hand to frighten the bear. The flash sends the bear careening into the woods, and when I turn back to Kat, the first thing I see is the trace that has lit up her aura, and then I see her start to collapse.


	8. Chapter 8

With the second ball of light the bear took off. A feeling of relief flooded me having averted Kat being eaten alive by such a monstrous beast. As I turn back to her to see what she actually saw, I find that her eyes are still closed. Suddenly she starts to collapse on herself, I race to her and lift her lifeless body into my arms. Her breaths are shallow and even, so I know she's fine just fainted, probably because of the amount of energy that I expelled scaring the bear away.

Overhead lightning flashes across the sky and thunder booms sending vibrations across the mountains. A storm was brewing - a common consequence of too much charged power. Something to do with the electrical fields affecting the weather and blah blah blah. Matthew has tried to explain how our powers affect the weather and atmospheric conditions, but I just don't care enough to pay attention. What I know is, the skies are going to open up and send a torrential downpour on top of us.

Gathering Kat into my arms, I take in the intoxicating smell of peaches and vanilla that are uniquely her. The serene look on her face, her thick lashes fanned out across her cheeks, her perfectly parted rosy lips, everything about her is pure and perfect. I take all of her in before dashing off toward our houses, back toward safety. Moments later I stand before her porch, getting soaked in the early evening shower trying to decide what I should do. I could lie her on her porch swing and leave her there and head home, but then I'll have to worry about her falling off the swing and getting hurt. If I hurt her, Dee would never forgive me. I could open the front door and place her on her couch and leave, but the door is probably locked so that would require that I search her pockets for a key. Looking down at her short shorts and her insanely long legs… no, I can't go there. Or I could just sit with her until she wakes.

Ascending the steps, I move toward the swing and have the internal battle between setting her there and leaving and sitting here with her until she wakes. My unacknowledged desires winning out, I set her down next to me with my arm draped around her waist, her thigh molded against mine, and her head on my chest. I try to relax but relaxation is impossible as she snuggles her head further into my chest and her hand rests on my hip. This all feels too right to ignore. But the soft glow of power that her body is emitting is what makes it impossible for me to relax. How am I going to explain the trace that is attached to her? The others are going to have a fit when they see how she's lit up. And how am I going to be able to protect her without telling her our dirty little secret? She's too independent to just sit back and stay in her house when Dee or I can't be with her. She's going to end up getting into some kind of trouble, and it's all my fault. If I could have just stayed away from her, if I could have convinced Dee this never would have happened. But here I am, even now I can't force myself to leave her. What is it about this girl that I can't seem to stay away from?

The hum of energy that passes across my body where her head and hand make contact with my body are undeniably intoxicating and unnerving at the same time. It's like I'm soaking in her energy just as she's soaked in mine. I've never felt this with anyone. I'd have thought I would have felt something like this with another Luxen, Ash or someone else, but I never have. Their power was never something I felt to my very soul like I do with Kat. Sometimes I wonder if she's really human.

Sitting here in silence, the rain pounding off the roof of the porch I can admit for the first time that there is something more about this girl than meets the eye. She's nothing like any other human that I've ever met. She's independent, stubborn, brave, and loyal. Even after only knowing my sister for days she was loyal to her and the friendship that they created. Most of all she's powerful in her own way, those attributes combined with her seemingly unwavering courage and strength make her almost as powerful as any Luxen that I've encountered.

Gently rocking the swing back and forth, my mind racing with these thoughts I can't deny the feel of her pressed against me, pinned to my side. Murmuring something in her sleep, Kat snuggles her cheek against my chest and wiggled closer to me. If she moves any closer, she'll be on my lap, not that I'd complain. Without realizing it, I find myself staring down at her perfectly peaceful face, her parted lips, and her fluttering eyelids. Figuring she must be dreaming, I start making idle circles with my thumb at her waist to calm her. The constant motion and the gentle contact seems to calm her. I continue to trace circles on her waist, inching the material of her shirt up until my skin was against hers. The skin on skin contact, even such a tiny bit, is just as unnerving and exciting as it was when I had her body pressed against mine at the lake. It's almost as though her body is recharging mine, like her power is being shared with me recharging me after my little light show. But that's not possible.

There is something calming about just sitting here and holding her, but it is also the exact opposite because every inch of my body was aware of how she fit to my side, of where her hand was, the rise and fall of her chest. This was peaceful and torturous and all so perfect in a way that I've never known.

Suddenly I feel her body flinch and her skin shiver under my touch. I still my hand knowing that she's awake and probably confused about what happened. Pushing up, she looked into my eyes with confusion and fear in her eyes.

"What... what happened?"

"You passed out," I explain sliding my hand from her waist and across her back.

"I did?" she asks sliding away from me and adjusting her hair and clothes.

"I guess the bear scared you. I had to carry you back."

"All the way?" A look of disappointment and something else passing across her face. The look immediately peaks my curiosity. "What… what happened to the bear?"

"The storm scared it. Lightning, I think." Yeah, my lightning, but she doesn't need to know that. "Are you feeling okay?" I ask, worried about the look that is stretched across her face. She looks terrified and sick.

Overhead lightning flashes across the sky, illuminating the gloomy sky. Boy when I bring in a storm, I really bring in a storm.

"The bear was scared of a storm?" she asks. I hope she isn't going to question this too much. I know that bears wouldn't be overly scared of a storm, but it's the only excuse that I have that explains why we are still in one piece and not chew toys for a four hundred pound bear.

"I guess so."

"We got lucky then," she says, but skepticism crosses her face. She glances down, brows knitting and when those lashes lift I have to remind myself to keep breathing normally. There is a quality to her gray eyes- a glimmer that sucks me right in. She seems like she's questioning something with her eyes, like thing are just not adding up in her head, I wish I could read her mind. I wonder if there has been anything else that has made her question things about Dee and me. Then I think back to the lake and my aquatic stupidity and the storm that I brought when Matthew showed up after and the fact that I've used my speed in front of her a couple times. Dammit, I was worried about Dee letting the cat out of the bag, it's going to end up being me. Shit…

"It rains here like it does in Florida," she says after several moments of silence.

I nudge her knee with mine, enjoying the slightest contact and rush of power transferred between us. "I think you may be stuck with me for a few more minutes." I don't think of it as being stuck, but I know I don't give her any reason to want to be anywhere near me most days.

"I'm sure I look like a drowned cat."

She really has no idea how beautiful she truly is. This thought takes me back to our earlier conversation. I thought that maybe she was just being modest, but now I don't think she is. She is not aware of her beauty or the effect she has on others, especially males, especially me. "You look fine. The wet look works for you." And it really does.

She scowls, "Now I know you're lying."

Before I even think, even realize what I'm doing, I turn to her. Placing my hand under her chin and gently lifting it toward me, forcing her to look at me I smile a little. "I wouldn't lie about what I thought."

She looked at me like she wanted to say something or do something but she didn't. I could feel the confusion and desire building in me from the contact. I'm beginning to see what Dawson saw in Bethany. If he felt any of the things I feel when I'm with Kat, It's no wonder he was willing to give up everything for her. Glancing down at her lips, I feel the pull of desire rising in my chest and I suddenly understand everything. "I think I understand now."

"Understand what?" she whispers.

The unnatural draw I have toward her- I think I understand it. She doesn't put up with any of my shit and she isn't afraid to tell me when I'm being a dick or stand up to me, I like that... a lot. More than I ever realized. A pink flush staining her cheeks, she looks into my eyes. "I like to watch you blush," I tell her quietly as I move my thumb across her cheek. Moving my head down to hers, feelings warring inside of me. I know this is wrong, I know that I need to get away from her and keep Dee away from her. Nothing good can come from being with a human, but everything else in me tells me that only good things can come from being with her.

Her eyes unwavering, she sucks an tiny breath and that completely undid me. I press my forehead to hers, taking in her scent and the feel of her soft skin and the hum of power in her skin reacting with the contact of mine. I stare into her eyes, desperate for some kind of sign or something to tell me what I was doing was right. Her eyes, a bright gray almost silver color, stare back at mine, desire and confusion flowing across her face. She inhales deeply and seems to hold her breath for a moment as we take one another in, sharing each other's air and energy.

Her skin is soft, and her lips look even softer. I found myself so caught up in her, there really is no escaping. A web she had no idea she was weaving. A naïve beauty and I've been around enough girls to know that is a rarity. Something to be cherished.

Lighting struck again and Kat didn't jump at the thunder this time. She's focused on my eyes and that pleased me, pulled at my control and teased me with what I can never have. Shouldn't even want to have, but I want it, I want her, god did I ever want her. And I know that if we continue where we are heading it's going to get messy, but I don't know if I care. I know what happens when Luxen and humans mix, and it's usually spells disaster for everyone involved. I already have too much responsibility and too much riding on me. Too much going on. But I want her, more than I've ever wanted anyone. My fingers slip along the curve of her cheek as my head tilts closer to hers. I know I'm going to regret this- but that isn't stopping me.

Something in her eyes told me what was in the deepest depths of her soul, her truest desires and those desires seemed to match my own. A need for one another, one that neither of us could deny nor could we attempt to enjoy, for very different reasons. Taking in a deep breath, I make up my mind. Having this with her, this feeling that I've never felt before is worth it to me.

Moving slowly toward her, taking in every part of her face, I move to kiss her. I want to feel her lips against mine, her breath on me. Our lips were only a breath away.

"Hey guys," my sister announces from just off the porch. Quickly sliding away from her before Dee got onto the porch, putting space between Kat and myself. What the hell was I about to do? Shit… I've got to stay away from this girl, but I don't want to. I really, really don't want to.

Dee looked at me like she could read my mind. She knew something and she could clearly see the trace that has Kat glowing like star. Narrowing her eyes at me, she wouldn't take her eyes from me. So I did the only thing I could, I grinned at her. What else could I do? She's not naïve.

"Hey there, sis. What's up?"

"Nothing. What are you doing?" she asks. I know she wants to know what the hell happened that left a trace on Kat, but that's a conversation for later.

"Nothing." I smile at her then look over at Kat. I've got to stop this before it goes too far. I'm going to hate myself for this. "Just earning bonus points."

I stand and walk across the porch and toward my house. But just as I'm leaving Kat's property, I hear her ask if my almost kissing her was part of Dee's deal with my keys. Damn, I was hoping she wouldn't say anything to Dee about that. Now she's going to have more questions other than she would have had about the trace.

I walk into my house dazed and kind of out of it. What was I thinking? I know I'm attracted to her. I know how I feel when I'm around her, but she's human. There can never be anything with her, no matter how much I want her. I flop down on my bed and close my eyes, but all I see is her eyes, the color of silver and her desire in my mind's eye. Even when I open my eyes I can still feel her breath on me and smell the peaches and vanilla all over my clothes.

I quickly get up and change into running shorts and sneakers. I should change my shirt and rid myself of her smell all together, but I don't, I can't for some reason. I sprint out the back door and into the woods where we just were. Moving as fast as light I race toward Smoke Hole Canyon and away from Kat and my desires. I can't keep running, every time I get confused about things with her I run. Eventually things are going to catch up with me, I can only hope I don't crash because of it.

By the time I return it's getting late and Dee is sitting in the living room watching television. I try to get up the stairs without her hearing me, but of course it doesn't happen.

"Care to tell me what happened?" she calls from the couch.

Walking into the living room I contemplate telling her nothing and ignoring her accusing looks and tone. But I know I can't. I have to at least explain the trace, the rest, well that remains to be seen.

"A bear attacked us in the woods. I had to stop it. I didn't mean…"

"I'm not talking about the trace, Daemon. I'm talking about why you were with her in the first place and why you almost kissed her."

"I was… trying to be nice, like you asked. And I didn't almost kiss her."

"Daemon, I saw you. You were like a centimeter away from kissing her. You like her, and I mean like-like her, don't you."

Scowling I turn away from her and start up the stairs, Dee following close behind. "What are we going to do about the trace? She's lit up like a star, Daemon."

I growl deep in my throat, "I know. Dammit, this is why I said this wouldn't work out Dee. Don't you see, I've put her and us in danger. This is why we can't be friends with humans. This is exactly what I was afraid of."

"Well, it's a little late now. We have to protect her. Besides, I'm not willing to give up her friendship. She's awesome, Daemon. I think you see that for yourself," she says, a look of amusement and knowing in her eyes.

"I don't know anything, other than the fact that you are going to have to stick with her as much as possible until it fades. The others are going to have a total shit-fit when they see how she's glowing."

"You mean Ash?"

"I could give two shits less about what Ash thinks. But the others in town, Matthew, they are going to be pissed."

"What about you, Daemon?"

"What about me? I still stand by my original reaction. You don't need a human friend, Dee. You have friends. She's too much trouble."

"The only trouble she is, is to you. I'm not going to stop being friends with her, and that's final." Dee stomps out of my room and before going down the steps she call out. "I'm going to Katy's to watch a movie. I'll be back later." And with that she zips down the steps and out the door.

I flop down on my bed, frustration and annoyance bubbling inside me. But something else comes up when I get a whiff of the peaches and vanilla scent that is still on my shirt and skin. It's like her smell has embedded itself into my skin and just like the memory of her lips so close to mine, it won't let me go.

I find myself sitting with Andrew, Ash, and Matthew trying to decide what I'm going to eat when Jocelyn comes up and smiles at us. Her curly red hair twisted into a knot on her head and her sparkling eyes smiling at all of us.

"Hey Jocelyn, how are the babies?" Ash asks. With the word babies I see her glance at me and smirk. She still thinks she and I will be together. But now more than ever before, the thought of settling for Ash makes me want to run for the hills and hide away where no one will ever find me.

"They are great, Ash, thanks. They are quite the handful though."

Ash smiles, her blue eyes glancing at me again. "I can't wait to settle down and start a family."

With that comment I immediately go rigid. How can she be so willing to lie down and basically be bitch for the Luxen? She may be willing to settle for what's expected, but I'm not.

Matthew must notice my reaction because he immediately changes the subject. "Jocelyn, do you guys have meatloaf and mashed potatoes today?"

"Yes we do. Is that what you would like?"

"Yeah, that will be perfect."

"How about the rest of you?"

"I'll take a burger and fries," I tell her.

Andrew and Ash both give her their order and Jocelyn is off in a flurry of curls and pink.

"What is your problem?" Ash asks, looking at me like I'm out of my mind.

"Nothing," I scowl.

"Well, something's up with you. You're different or something."

Scowling even more I look out the window to the people outside, "I don't have a problem. Now stop it."

She scowls herself but looks more upset than angry. I know she's expecting that I'll do my duty and that we will eventually be together like the elders plan, but that's not what I've ever wanted. Especially now.

"So," Matthew says after a few minutes of silence. "What is happening with that… neighbor of yours?"

I look up at him and see the annoyance and challenge in his gaze. "Nothing is happening."

"So is it safe to assume that you've convinced Dee that having a friend like that isn't worth it?"

"If you think that I would be able to convince Dee of any such thing, then you don't know Dee as well as you think. She made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that she will not end her friendship with that girl and that there was nothing I could do to stop her."

"We could call in the DOD," Andrew says while playing with the cuticles on his fingers. "If the girl disappears then there is nothing that Dee can do about it."

I look at him like he's crazy. "And why would we call in the DOD? She doesn't know anything about us, there's no reason for…"

"Now wait a minute, Daemon. She's obviously a threat. It's only a matter of time…"

I growl at them, "No one will be calling anyone about anything. I'll take care of it." Standing I slide out of the booth and scowl at them both. I walk up to Jocelyn and she smiles, "What can I do for you Daemon?"

"I would like my food to go. Can you double it? If I go home without something for Dee she'll have my head."

Smiling, she turns and calls out to the cook. "No problem."

I turn to go back to the booth to wait for the food and find Ash standing right behind me. "What is your problem? Why are you defending that… girl?"

"I'm not defending anyone, Ash. Now go sit back down."

"Don't do that. Don't talk to me like you own me, Daemon." She scowls, the look on her still beautiful. She stares intently at me, her vibrant blue eyes boring into me. Glowering at her, I meet her gaze with my own. Immediately she cowers from my glare. There's only one person that I've met that isn't afraid to meet my stare, and Ash isn't that person, Luxen, whatever.

"Oh my god, you have a thing for that girl," she whispers. "You do, admit it."

"I have nothing to admit to. Don't be ridiculous."

Her eyes widen as she looks at me in disbelief. Tears pooling in her eyes, "You listen to me, Daemon. You belong to me, understand?"

Growling, "I don't belong to anyone, Ash. You need to remember that."

Just then Jocelyn steps toward us with a huge bag of food. "Here you go Daemon, there should be enough to tide you and Dee over for a couple hours." She smiles.

"Thank you," I say, flashing a smile toward Jocelyn. Then turning back to Ash, "Go back to Matthew and your brother. I'm going home to bring dinner to Dee."

Ash nods slightly. She knows how I feel about being told what I will do and who I'll do it with. Eventually I'll probably relent and settle down with Ash, but her making plans and talking the way she was just pisses me off. I won't be forced into doing what the elders want when they want it.

Pulling into the driveway I see Dee leaving Katy's house, a look of worry and sadness on her face. What the hell did that human do to her to make her look like that?

She walks up to my car and gives me a sad, pained smile.

"Hey Sis, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing. Did you bring home something to eat?"

"Yeah, I just didn't feel like sitting at the diner. What are you up to?" I ask, trying to get her to tell me why she seemed so upset.

"Nothing, I'm supposed to be meeting with the DOD. I had to lie to Katy and tell her that I was meeting with friends. I'm sure I upset her, not being able to invite her and all."

"Well, you can't very well tell her the truth about that, now can you?"

"No. But I could see the hurt in her eyes, Daemon."

We move into the living room where I hand her the container of food and place mine in front of me. That doesn't seem to be the only thing bothering her right now. There seems to be more. "Is that all that's wrong?"

"I'm worried about her." Dee says without looking at me. Her eyes trained on the food in front of her, she continues. "She's got that trace on her and she was insisting on going to the library tonight. I tried to convince her to wait until tomorrow and we could go together, but I don't think she's going to. I think she's going to go tonight, by herself."

I sit back, now seeing what Dee's problem is. The trace is my fault and if something were to happen to her, then that would also be my fault.

"I can't cancel this, they'll come get me if I don't show. I have to at least appear to be cooperating."

"You don't have to explain anything to me, Dee. Look, if it makes you feel any better I'll keep an eye on her."

She looks surprised, but I don't know why. I may act like I don't like the girl, but I would never wish anyone dead and I would never subject them to a possible Aurum attack. She smiles a little and takes a bite of her burger. "Thank you, Daemon."


	9. Chapter 9

Sitting and watching the Ghost Investigators episodes that I have saved on the DVR, I think about all of the things that have happened since moving to West Virginia. I hated everywhere else we've lived over the years, New York worst of all. What was I thinking when I lived in New York. None of those other places felt like home, they were all missing something. But this place was different from the beginning. Now two years later, I feel more comfortable here than I have anywhere else. The problem is, I don't know if it is the place or who lives here. I'm not sure I felt like this when we first got here, or even a couple months ago. Suddenly though, this place feels like home, like a place that I can be happy. I shake my head, trying to clear the cobwebs. I need to think straight and stop worrying about nonsense. It's not like there can ever be anything real for me with anyone other than Ash. I just need to resign myself to that and be done with it.

After an episode of Ghost Investigators and some self-pity I walk to the front door to check to make sure that Katy hasn't gone anywhere. I should hear that noisy car of hers, but I better check just in case.

When I look out I see that her mother's Prius is gone, but then I see that her car is gone too. Shit, how did I miss her leaving? I head toward my SUV, but quickly realize that I'll get to town a lot faster without the car. Throwing down my keys, I pocket my cell phone and take off toward town. The sun setting and a storm threatening overhead makes the evening seem much later and more foreboding than I should have.

By the time I arrive in town, it's completely dark and there are not many people bustling around town. I rush past Foodland and toward the library. The parking lot across from the library is dimly lit and surrounded by nothing but trees and empty buildings, the perfect place to abduct someone or harm someone without anyone noticing. And of course it would be the place where Katy would automatically park since it's supposed to be for the library.

When I get into the parking lot, I see her car, but I don't see her. Suddenly I hear a faint cry, a strangled sob, calling for help. It was Katy, I know it. I zip toward her car and find her pinned to the ground with an Aurum hovering above her, his hand around her throat choking the life out of her and his other hand ready to plunge into her chest and take her life.

I rush up and rip the Aurum away from her and throw him to the ground out of sight. "Stay away from her," I growl in my own language as I punch and kick at the Aurum. I grab him by the neck and lift him high into the air and launch him away from where Kat will see what's happening.

He launches himself at me and throws me to the ground near Kat. I stand and ready myself for his attack, and throw him away from me and further away from where Kat can see. "Dammit," I growl when he rushes at me again, this time in his shadow form. Instead of just attacking he immediately thrusts his arm into my chest, trying to go for my power.

Calling on the source, I bring a ball of light into my hands and launch it at him, forcing him to back off and run away. Rubbing my chest, I know should go after him and finish this, but then I hear Katy coughing and wheezing behind me. I rush over toward her to check to see if she's okay.

"It's okay," I tell her. "He's gone. Are you okay?" I place my hand on her shoulder and stop her from toppling over onto the ground. When she tries to lift herself off of the ground I stop her. Gently keeping my hand on her to try to calm her. "Just sit still. Everything is okay."

Her face is scraped and her eye is swollen shut, there are hand prints around her neck from where he had his choke hold on her and her wrist is mangled and seems to be broken. Without realizing what I'm doing I start to pull on my ability to heal and send the healing powers that I have through her body. As the healing penetrates her body, she starts to move and look around, toward me.

"Thank you for…" she says looking up into my face. She stops abruptly when she sees me crouching before her, hand still on her shoulder, trying to heal her before she realizes what is happening.

"Kat. Are you still with me?" I ask gently.

"You," she whispers looking up at me.

"Yes, it's me," I assure her. I move my hand down her arm to her wrist to try to heal the broken bones. But something in my touch seems to unnerve her because she flinches and pulls away from me. Concern written all over her face.

"I can help you," I tell her trying to take her hand again.

"No!" she shrieks, looking at me like I'm going to hurt her.

Straightening I look down at her taking in her appearance. Her wrist isn't broken anymore, but it's still swollen and bruised, her neck is still bruised and her eye is still swollen. I could fix all of this if she would let me. But the fear in her eyes and the tense set to her body tell me that now isn't a good time to try to help her. "Whatever. I'll call the police." As much as I don't want to involve the police in this, I don't have much of a choice. They'll never find the thing responsible for this that is something that I'm going to have to take care of on my own, but Kat is going to expect the police to be called.

I kept my eyes on her and scanning the area the entire time I was on the phone with the authorities. When I was done, I stood over her watching, waiting for the Aurum to return.

"Thank… you." She whispers in a hoarse voice behind me. The damage to her throat evident in her voice.

"Don't thank me," I tell her. Running my fingers through my hair I look out around the parking lot and into the surrounding woods. "Dammit, this is my fault." If I'd have stayed away from her, if I'd have listened to what I have been telling Dee about being with humans, this would have never have happened. It's my fault. If I wouldn't have been with her when the bear attacked, if I hadn't used my powers to scare it away. If I was paying better attention and would have heard her leave before she actually left. So many decisions that I've made that have led to this moment. If I would have stayed away, she wouldn't have had the trace and she wouldn't have been attacked.

I stand above her, searching the surrounding area for any sign of the Aurum. I will protect her with my life if that's what I have to do. Damn…

Glancing down I see her staring up at me, admiration and something else showing in her eyes. Ever the smart ass I smirk a little, "See something you like, Kitten?"

She immediately drops her eyes to her hands, she looks so meek, beaten down, and abused. She's silent for a few moments, "Light – I saw light."

I know she's talking about my light. Her eyes were closed, but there isn't much that can shield someone from my light when I unleash it. "Well, they do say there is light at the end of the tunnel." Damn, that was a stupid thing to say. Nothing like making her feel worse.

I watch as she shrinks away from me more, like I just reminded her of the fact that she almost died. "Dammit, I'm sorry. That was thoughtless. How bad are you hurt?" I ask.

She looks a little surprised and confused, but then she speaks. "My throat… It hurts." She runs her fingers across her throat then she touches her wrist. "So does my wrist. I'm not…sure if it's broken." I know her wrist isn't broken, my still be sprained since I didn't get to completely fix it, but the bone is mended. "But there was a flash… of light."

Ignoring her talk about the light, I look at her wrist, "It might be broken or sprained. Is that all?"

"All? The man… he was trying to kill me."

I glance up at her and narrow my eyes at her. "I understand that. I was hoping he didn't break anything important." I look her over and take in every part of her. Even with her bruised and swollen eye and her black and blue throat, she's still so beautiful. It pisses me off that that she was almost taken away from me. Going back to her condition I meet her eyes. "Like your skull?"

"No… I don't think so." She says much to my relief.

"Okay, okay." I look around again, making sure we are still alone. I doubt the Aurum will come back here right now, but I can't let my guard down. "Why were you out here anyway?"

"I… wanted to go to the library. It wasn't that… late," she says, struggling with every word and breathing. "It's not… like we are in a crime-ridden… city. He said he needed help… flat tire."

Why would he use such a ridiculous excuse to get her attention? He could have just grabbed her, he would have been fast enough, strong enough to overpower her immediately. Using a ploy to get her to take her guard down doesn't make sense. I find it hard to hide my surprise when my eyes widen at her. She lived in a big city, how could she possibly not know better than to stop and help a strange man in an empty parking lot? He would have gotten to her no matter what she did, but if this was just some normal psychopath, the result would have been exactly the same.

"A stranger approaches you for help in a dark parking lot and you go and help him? That has to be one of the most careless things I've heard in a long time." Staring down at her, trying to get her to understand how bad this could have been I continue. "I bet you think things through, right? Accept candy from strangers and get into vans with a sign that reads free kittens?" Staring at me, shocked at my blatant rudeness I go on. "Sorry wouldn't have been helpful if I didn't come, now would it?"

"So why were… you out here?" she asks, ignoring my words.

Rubbing my chest, "I just was." I can't tell her that I was supposed to be watching out for her while Dee was at her meeting with the DOD.

"Geez, I thought you guys were supposed to be nice and charming."

Confused I send her a frown, "What guys?"

"You know, the knight in shining armor and saving the damsel in distress kind."

God, I want nothing more than to be her knight, to take care of her, but that's just not possible. "I'm not your knight."

"Okay…" she whispered. Silence washes over us for a few moments, I don't mean to be such an ass when it comes to her, but I have to. I have to make sure that she stays safe, even if that means pissing her off and forcing her to stay away from me and Dee. Keeping my eyes trained on our surroundings, I don't see when she looks up at me.

"Where is he now?" she asks after looking up at me again.

"He took off. Long gone by now." She lowers her head again and looks like she's going to pass out. "Kat...?"

She lifts her head once again and looks at me. Her heather gray eyes full of pain and fear. Meeting my gaze she attempts to stand. "I don't think you should stand. I kneel down next to her and steady her. "The ambulance and police should be here any minute. I don't you passing out."

"I'm not going… to pass out," she argues, but she can barely sit still. In the distance the sound of sirens approaching get louder.

"I don't want to have to catch you if you do." I look down at my knuckles, not a speck of dirt or any indication that I was in a fight is found on my knuckles. Without meeting her gaze I speak. "Did… did he say anything to you?"

She takes a deep breath and lets it out. "He said… I had a trace on me. And he kept asking… where they were. I don't know why."

Shit, I was hoping he didn't say anything to her or that I got here before he had a chance to try to get information from her. "He sounds like a lunatic."

"Yeah, but… who did he want?"

I look up at her and try to convince her that this was just some everyday normal lunatic, if there is any such thing. "A girl stupid enough to help a homicidal maniac with his tire maybe?"

"You're such an ass. Has… anyone told you that?"

I don't want to be an ass, but I don't know how else to fix this. Everything is going to shit so quickly, I don't know what else to do. I smile at her, trying to distract her from the real problem and get her to focus on my arrogance. "Oh, Kitten, every day of my blessed life."

"I don't even know what to say," she says looking at me in disbelief.

"Since you already said thank you, I think nothing is the best way to go at this point. Just please don't move. That's all I ask. Stay still and try not to cause any more trouble."

She scowled at me causing me to smirk to myself as I turn my attention back to our surroundings. The last thing I need right now is to get bum rushed by an Aurum with the police coming and Kat sitting here. I stand there, arms folded watching and waiting until the police arrive to take care of her. All I know is I won't be leaving her side for quite some time. I have to make sure that she's safe. If she didn't have this damn trace then…

I'm ripped from my thoughts as I look down and notice that she has started quivering and shaking from the cold. Her clothes are completely soaked from the rain and sitting on the ground she's probably frozen. Without a word, I take my shirt off and gently pull it down over her head to warm her. She looks up at me, surprise and contentment in her face. Just as I'm ready to resume my place, hovering over her, I notice her sway. Her eyes roll back and close and she begins to topple to the ground.

Before she can collapse and smack her face off of the ground, I grab her and gather her into my arms. Pulling her cold battered and bruised body to mine, I hold on to her as the police and the ambulance pull into the parking lot. I want nothing more than to heal her wounds and take away her pain, but it will have to wait.

"Is this the girl that was attacked?" the police officer asks as he walks up to me. The paramedics take out the gurney and wheel it over to us, gesturing for me to lie her down.

Hesitating with her for just a moment, I walk over to the gurney and lie her cold and soaked body down.

"What happened to her?" the paramedic asks.

"She was the girl that was attacked. She was awake and talking up until about five minutes ago when she just seemed to start to fall asleep. I was crouched right next to her when she fainted, so I stopped her from hitting the ground and picked her up to get her off of the cold ground. She was shivering."

He nods and starts his assessment of her injuries as his partner makes notes. Together they push the gurney into the back of the ambulance and finish their assessment.

"Are you the one that called 911?" one office asks.

"Yes, I was waiting for my sister to come pick me up. I was walking through town toward the diner when I her a scream and I saw a guy attacking this girl."

"Do you know her?" the other officer asks. I recognize him from the missing person's search for Dawson and Bethany.

"Yes, she's our neighbor. I guess she was at the library, I'm not really sure."

"Sir, would you like to ride to the hospital with her?" one of the paramedics asks.

"Yes," I say firmly and turn from the police and climb into the back of the ambulance. Inside, Katy has a heart monitor on her, and other wires and monitors attached to her. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry. She probably just passed out because exhaustion from the experience. She will be fine."

I stare at her, wishing I could have healed her before they arrived and hoping that she is okay. I can take away the pain and the bruising, but I can't take away the memory or what she heard or saw.


	10. Chapter 10

When we arrive at the hospital I am bombarded with questions from Katy's mother, the doctors, and the police. Other than telling them that I saw a man dressed all in black attacking her and that I scared him off, there isn't more that I can say. Not long after we arrived at the hospital, Katy regained consciousness, thank god because now they can ask her all of the questions and I can hover in the shadows, like a sentry watching over her and taking care of her.

By the look on Katy's face after the fifth time she tells her story and answers the same questions that she's already answered in one way or another, she's ready to throttle someone. It's kind of sick that I'm turned on to and attracted to her feisty attitude. I think that's what I like most about her. She doesn't try to be too accommodating and she isn't fake, like her or not, she's just Katy. And I like her. The more I'm around her the more I realize that I shouldn't be around her, but I also realize that I can't stay away from her.

When the police were finally finished asking her questions, they came over to me and asked me a few more. I didn't have much more to add to what I already told them, but I tried to be accommodating. I didn't want to raise any red flags or anything. The story was, I heard a scream and found the man choking her. I ran up to help her and the man ran off. I didn't see where he went, nor did I try to follow him. The fact that I fought him, that he tried to take my essence, and that I hit him with a ball of light were things that they wouldn't understand and therefore would never know.

The familiar cop clapped me on the back and gave me a smile. He was very nice and tried to be helpful when Dawson disappeared. He asked about my sister and asked if we needed anything. It still amazes me when a human is this nice, they all seem to be so self-centered that they don't see what is happening around them. So when I encounter humans like this cop or Katy, I'm shocked.

The cop turns from me and I see Katy's mom hovering by her bed asking all the same questions again. Katy looks as though she wants to just leave her alone and go away.

"Miss Swartz," the nice cop says.

She turns, surprised and looks at him confused. "Yes?"

"I think we are pretty much done for tonight. If you remember anything else, please call us immediately."

I doubt there is anything else she's going to remember, there isn't any more they can do. I'll hunt the bastard down that hurt her and kill him, as soon as I can. There won't be anything the local authorities can do about this one.

Katy nods her head at the cop and she winces from the pain.

"Honey, are you okay?" her mother asks her.

"My head, it hurts," Katy complains.

Her mother stands and looks her over, "I'll go find the doctor so we can get those meds in you. Then you won't feel a thing."

Katy smiles slightly at her mother as she rushes out of the room. As the cop starts to leave behind her he turns to her and smiles, "I don't think you have anything to worry about. I…"

Suddenly he stops, his radio crackling to life on his shoulder. The sound of the dispatcher coming over the radio calling all units to a female victim in the area that is probably dead. The cop responds to the dispatcher and rushes out of the room without another word. The sound of the dispatcher's words hovering in the air, 'EMTs on the scene, possible DOA.'

Well damn, I guess the Arum found someone to take his anger out on. I'm going to have to find him quickly and take care of him before anyone else gets hurt, or worse. Feeling horrible about the fact that some random girl lost her life for no reason other than the Arum's fury at losing Katy and me, I look over toward her and thank whatever gods are out there that I made it to her in time.

After a few moments of silence, her mother comes rushing back in. "Honey, Dr. Michaels has good news."

An older man with dark hair, graying on the sides walks into the room behind her mother and looks Katy over. He brings his gaze up to me for just a moment, but then returns it to Katy. "As you already know," he says, "you have no broken bones and it also looks like you don't have a concussion. Once we can release you, you can go home and rest." He looks from Kat to me again and continues. "Now, if you start experiencing dizziness or nausea, vision issues or loss of memory, we need you back here immediately."

"Okay," Katy says quietly.

The doctor leaves the room as Katy looks at her mother expectantly. The pills and water in hand, her mother gives them to her.

Out in the hall, Dee's voice sounds. I probably shouldn't have texted her, but I really had no choice. She was so worried about Katy leaving the house tonight while she was out with Adam. And the fact that I missed her leave and didn't stop her, Dee was a mess.

"Oh no, Katy, are you okay?" Dee asks.

"Yes. Just a little banged up." Katy lifts her bandaged arm. Dee's face pales.

"I can't believe this has happened," Dee says. Then turning to me and glaring at me. "How could this have happened? I thought you…"

"Dee," I warn. I don't know where she was going with that comment, but it is best left for when we are alone.

Dee turns back to Katy and pales once more, "I'm so sorry about this."

"It's not your fault," Katy says. No it's not Dee's fault, it's mine. If I'd have just stayed away from the girl, this wouldn't have happened. Now staying away from her might be impossible.

Her mother's name was called over the intercom and she quickly left, promising to return quickly. Dee turned to Katy, "Can you leave soon?"

"I guess so," Katy says, sounding drowsy and unfocused. "As long as my mom comes back."

Dee nods, "Did… you see the guy who attacked you?"

"Yeah, he said some crazy stuff. Something about finding 'them'. I don't know." She paused for a moment and I hoped that she wouldn't go much further with her explanation. Dee's going to be freaking out as it is, add an Arum on the loose to that and she's going to be terrified for both us and Katy. "Weird."

"I hope you can leave soon. I hate hospitals."

I just want to get out of here and go find that dammed Arums so I can put Dee's mind at ease.

"I do, too."

"They have… such a strange smell to them," Dee says.

"That's what I've always told Mom, but she thinks I make it up."

I stand there, listening to their conversation about the hospital. Closing my eyes I try to forget what she looked like broken and battered on the ground, the should of her cries as the Arum tried to torture her enough to get her to tell him where 'they' are. Not that Katy know who 'they' are, but it probably wouldn't be hard for her to figure out.

Dee continued to talk about leaving the hospital and taking Katy home. I don't know what it is about hospitals and why Dee is so adamant about getting her out of here, but she's relentless in her chatter.

I open my eyes for a moment and see Katy struggling in the bed to move. Her face blocked by Dee's body, I can't see why she's struggling or what she's looking for. I close my eyes again and try to just take in everything I hear and try to remember everything that happened tonight with the Arum. He had me for a minute. He was going for my powers, but he was too quick to try to go for the prize. I wasn't anywhere near ready to lie down and let him kill me. Stupid ass Arum, sometimes I wonder how they survive without being found or without being hunted into extinction.

The sound of Dee's chatter and Katy's periodic responses is kind of lulling in a way. I know there is nothing here that is a threat at this moment. But I need to go find that guy and take care of him before one of us gets hurt or before he decides to kill another random human for no reason, it's not like he gets anything out of killing humans.

Suddenly her mother's voice breaks through my thoughts. She's apologizing for leaving Katy and for the fact that she may be here a while longer. Well, if this is where Katy is, this is where I'll be. I'm not leaving her side until we are back home and then I'll watch over her from there.

"Ms. Swartz, we can take her home," Dee says, snapping me out of my thoughts once more. "I'm sure she wants to go home. I know I would and it would be no problem for us to do it."

I open my eyes and find Katy practically begging her mother to take her home and her mother with a look of fear and worry in her eyes. "I would feel better if she was here or with me, in case she does have a concussion and, well, I don't want anything else to happen."

It would probably be best for her to stay here, not that this is the most comfortable place in the world.

"We would never let anything happen. We'll take her right home and stay with her. I promise."

I looked between Katy and her mother and could see the fear and worry in both of them. Her mother wrestling with her responsibilities as a mother and a nurse and Katy just wanting her mother to take care of her. This is a bond that we have never had the opportunity to have.

I can feel my face soften at the family dynamic displayed in front of me. For all of the freedom that we have, the feel of a parent who cares for us without waver is something I wish we could have had. When Katy's eyes find mine, the expression on her face changes, like she feels comfortable with knowing that I'll be there.

"It's okay, Mom. I'm feeling a lot better, and I'm sure nothing else is wrong. I don't want to stay here."

And with that her mother agrees, with a little swearing and instructions in case something happens, she agrees to allow Dee and me to take Katy home. I'm not sure when I agreed to stay with her, but the look in Katy's eyes tells me the only reason she's agreeing to this is because I'm going to be there. I don't know if that is wishful thinking or not.

After her mother leaves, Kat turns to Dee, "Thank you. But you don't have to stay with me."

Dee frowns, "Yes, I will. No arguments. I'll go see what I can do to spring you from this place."

After Dee leaves, I move to the foot of her bed and look her over. Her eyes closed, I think the medication may have finally taken effect, until she reopens them and focuses on me then closes them once more.

"Are you going to insult me again? I'm not up to… pear for that."

I smirk, "I think you meant par."

"Pear. Par. Whatever."

She opens her eyes and meets my gaze.

"Are you okay?" I ask her.

"I'm great." She yawns and I can't help but think of all of the reasons that I call her Kitten. That yawn reminded me of a big yawn that a kitten would have. It makes me want to smile. "Your sister acts as if this is her fault."

I sigh, "She doesn't like it when people get hurt. And people tend to get hurt around us." As much as I hate to admit it, people do get hurt around us. Not just us, but all Luxen. There's always someone out there to hurt us and the people we get close to.

"What does that mean?" she asks but I don't respond. There is nothing I can say short of telling her everything in order for her to understand, so it's best to say nothing. But there is a part of me that wants to tell her everything. To let her in on this big secret that is our lives. I've never wanted to share this with anyone before, but something makes me want to tell her.

Dee rushes back in, and I'm saved from the awkward silence. "We're good to go, with doctor's orders and all."

I move over to the side of her bed. "Come on, let's get you home." I gently place my hands behind her and help her to sit up then stand. As soon as she stands, she stumbles a few steps. Supporting her weight, I hold on to her so she doesn't fall or pass out.

"Whoa, I feel buzzed."

I continue to hold on to her as Dee talks to her.

"I think the pills are starting to work."

"Am I… slurring yet?" she asks.

Dee giggles a little, "Not at all."

Her body starts to slump into me more, I don't think she even realizes that I am holding most of her weight right now. To stop her from falling and hurting herself more, I whisk her up into my arms and pull her against my chest. The pressure of her weight and the heat emanating from her body is relaxing and alluring to me. Gently I place her in the wheelchair that Dee brought into the room. I would gladly carry her out to the car if I could. "Hospital rules," I explain when she gives me a confused look.

I wheel her out to the receptionist's desk where they have several papers for her to sign for her release. I guess her mother is busy with the multi-car accident. Steering her through the parking lot, I keep my eyes trained on our surroundings to make sure there are no Arum or other threats looming in the darkness.

At Dee's car I gently lift her out of the wheelchair and carry her to the back seat. Placing her inside she gives me a wry look. "I can walk, you know." Being that she's starting to slur her words and is clearly feeling the effects of the pain medication, I'm pretty sure if I left her to walk she'd fall down and probably go to sleep.

I snicker a little. "I know."

Walking around the car, I slide into the back seat next to her. Dee climbs into the front seat and starts the car. After a moment, Katy's head droops and she slides toward me, depositing her head on my chest. The internal struggle of whether to hold on to her or move her away begins again and just like when we were on her porch, the desires pummel the knowledge of what is right. I wrap my arm around her shoulders.

With Dee's eyes on the road, pulling out of the parking lot and Katy basically passed out, I let the healing warmth pass from me to her, mending her cuts and diminishing her bruises. She snuggles in closer, pressing tighter to me and I respond by tightening my grip on her and pulling her to me. I want to keep her here, keep her safe with me, even though I know it's not right and I know it's dangerous.

After a few moments of silence, I'm pretty positive that she's asleep at this point but it's hard to tell. Dee speaks up, worry and sadness in her voice. "I told her not to go. I could still see it."

I take in a deep breath. "I know." I look down at Katy's face, she really seems to be sleeping. "Don't worry. I'm not going to let anything happen this time. I swear." I don't want anything to happen to her, I don't want her to be hurt again. When I saw what the Arum was doing to her and how badly she was beaten, I wanted to kill him, I still want to kill him. Not just because he's an Arum and it's my job, but because by attacking her, he made it personal.

"You did something, didn't you?" Dee asks at a whisper. "It's stronger now."

I take in a deep breath, it's not like I had much of a choice the ass hat was going for my powers and he hurt her. "I didn't… mean to." I look down at her and gently move her hair from her face. The swollen black eye is pretty much gone now, only the slightest trace of a bruise is still there. The bruises on her neck are faded as well. "It just happened. Shit."

After a few more moments Dee says, "I thought you were going to keep an eye on her."

"Dee, I tried. She left without me seeing. It's not like I could hover over her every moment. I got there as fast as I could."

"What happened?"

"I fought the Arum. I had to."

She simply nods her head as she turns up our secluded little road and onto our driveway. Once parked, I gently sit Katy up so that I can go around the car and lift her out. Dee runs ahead to her house to open the door.

When I get her inside, Dee turns to me. "You don't have to stay, if you don't want to."

"It's fine. I'll stay."

Giving me a look that I can't read, she smiles and turns to close the door. "I'm going to run home to get a change of clothes and something to much on. Do you want anything?"

"No." I carry Katy into the living room and place her gently on the couch and sit down next to her. Alone again, I go through everything that's happened in the past couple days and everything I've felt. None of its right, and none of it's a good idea, but I can't stop what I feel. I would destroy the world to protect my sister, I would do the same for Katy.

I lie her down on the couch and look her over. Her bruises and cuts are much better now that I was able to really heal her. A moment later Dee comes in the house with some ice cream and in her pajamas.

"I have ice cream," she says with a smile.

"Dee, I have to go find the Arum. He tried to kill Kat tonight and he killed a human. I have to go find him, do you understand."

She looks nervous but sighs, "Yes, I understand. Please be careful." I pull her into a hug and zip out of the house and back into town.

Finding the Arum isn't as hard as I'd feared. Skulking around the hospital, he moves in and out of the shadows. Probably hoping for an opportunity to find Katy or me. Well, big boy. Here I am.

"Boy, don't you have anything better to do than hang around a hospital? Guess you didn't get your fill for the night, did you?"

He looks at me and growls. "Luxen, I knew where the girl was you wouldn't be far behind. You Luxen are so predictable."

"Whatever, the girl isn't even here anymore. While you were snacking on the human, she was released and taken home."

"Ahhh… So you've come to seek revenge for the human girl then? Interesting."

Without another word, the Arum turns to shadow and launches himself at me. This one really is rather stupid. He must be the runt of the litter or something. Crashing into me, he turns into his human form and tries to pin me down. But my strength over powers him and I send him flying with a well-placed bolt of light. I take the obsidian blade from the strap on my calf and ready myself for a fight.

He comes at me once more, nothing but shadow and darkness surrounding him. As soon as he's in range I lash out with the blade, but he anticipates the move and sweeps past me, causing the darkness to engulf me for just a moment.

With the obsidian in one hand and the source building in the other I launch the light through the darkness and slice up with the blade, cutting through his shadow form. He bursts apart in a billion pieces, scattering through the night.

Replacing the obsidian, I race back to Katy's house.

When I arrive, Dee is already asleep on the recliner, empty the container of ice cream sitting on her lap. I smile and take the container to the kitchen. I return to the living room and sit on the couch next to Katy's head. She seems to be in a fitful sleep, groaning and moving around. Gently I take her head and place it on my lap and smooth her hair from her face. I place my hand on the curve of her hip and gently move my hand, trying to lull her back to sleep.

When I wake in the morning, Dee is sound asleep on the recliner and Kat is still sleeping on my lap. Her rhythmic breaths lulling and pulling me back under. A few moments later I feel Katy shifting. She must feel the pain and be remembering what happened last night because she starts to take in deep breaths. I don't move when I realize that my hand is on her hip. She moves her head and seems to be debating on something, maybe she's having trouble sitting up.

"You okay, Kitten?" I ask her.

"Daemon?" she whispers. "I… sorry. I didn't mean to sleep on you."

Even though I basically led her here and had probably the best night sleep of my life next to her I don't say that. "It's okay."

She tries to sit up, so I help her, gently guiding her until she was completely upright. As soon as I take my hand from her, she wobbles. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. You stayed here all night?"

"Yeah," where did she think I was going to go? Doesn't she feel the pull that I feel when I'm with her? "Do you remember anything?" I ask.

She nods and winces a bit, "I was attacked last night."

"Someone tried to mug you," I tell her, hoping to convince her that it was nothing more than a mugging gone wrong.

She shakes her head and looks at me like she knows that's wrong. Why is it so hard to convince this girl of anything? "He wasn't trying to mug me," she says firmly.

"Kat…"

"No," she says, trying to stand. I put my arm around her waist, holding her there next to me. "He didn't want my money, Daemon. He wanted them."

Stiffening, I don't look at her. How can I convince her that this was just some everyday psycho and not something that was out of the ordinary? "That doesn't make any sense."

"No shit," she insists. "But he kept asking about where they were and about a trace."

Dammit, what can I do? "The guy was insane. You realize that right? That he wasn't right in the head. That nothing he said means anything."

"I don't know. He didn't seem crazy."

God, why does she have to make this so flipping difficult? "Trying to beat the crap out of a girl isn't crazy enough for you? I'm curious what you think is crazy."

She scowls, "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" I shift so I can look at her but I'm careful not to move her or jar her as I do it. "He was a random lunatic, but you're going to make it bigger than it is, aren't you?" I hate what I'm going to have to do here. If she won't listen to reason and just succumb to the idea that he was just a nut job looking for someone to screw with, then I am going to have to bully her into the idea. I hate it, but it's necessary for her safety. She can't go around questioning what happened last night, it'll only lead to more problems.

"I'm not making this anything," she insists. "Daemon, that wasn't a normal lunatic."

I snicker, normal lunatic… "Oh, you're an expert on crazy people now?"

"A month with you and I feel like I have a master's degree in the subject."

I love when she gets all feisty with me. Pissed off she pulls away and glares at me. But the motion makes her wobble in her seat. I reach out and put my hand on her arm, keeping contact with her. "You okay?" I ask and when she doesn't immediately respond. "Kat?"

She shakes my hand off of her, scowling again. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Without looking at her, because I know if I look into her eyes I'm liable to tell her everything, I turn on my cold and cruel attitude. I need for her to understand that talking about this, worrying about this is not going to be good. It will draw attention to her and it will be dangerous for all of us.

"I know you're probably messed up after what happened last night, but don't make this something it's not."

"Daemon…," she whimpers. I have to cut her off, I have to make her listen, understand. I can't look at her, I can't.

"I don't want Dee worried that there is an idiot out there attacking girls. Do you understand me?" My voice is cruel and vicious, my eyes hard and unwavering. She has to listen, she has to understand.

I glance toward her for just a moment and almost fold and tell her everything when I see her lip tremble, like she's going to cry. My viciousness is a necessary evil, but I don't have to like what I'm doing. This poor girl has been through so much, what I'm doing right now, it's not fair. She now thinks that I only care about my sister and I care nothing for her and what she's been through. I know that's got to be what she's feeling. I hate that I have to do this to her. But it is for her good and ours.

She looks up and our eyes lock. I try to soften my gaze but at the same time will her to understand that my words are not what I mean. I need her to understand that forgetting and moving on are what is best right now, not dwelling on everything.

On the recliner Dee yawns loudly and stretches. I don't waver from my gaze though, I need Kat to understand.

Katy looks toward Dee, just as she sits up and smiles. "Good morning! Have you guys been awake long?"

I sigh, "No, Dee, we just woke up and were talking. You were snoring so loudly we couldn't stay asleep any longer."

Dee snorts, "I doubt that. Katy, are you feeling… okay this morning?"

"Yeah, I'm a little sore and stiff, but overall okay."

Dee smiles, but the guilt is still evident in her eyes. She needs to stop, this isn't her fault, its mine. Dee stretches once more before trying to tame her wild mess of hair. "I think I'm going to make you breakfast."

Oh good lord help us all, she can't be left alone in a kitchen. I don't even know if she really knows how to use a stove. But before I can object or offer in her place she is out of the living room and dashing to the kitchen. Pots and pans clanging around I just shake my head. I'm going to have to go save her before she burns down Katy's house.

"Okay," Katy grumbles.

Standing I stretch my hands over my head, popping muscles and bones back into place from sitting up, sleeping all night. Without making eye contact with Katy, I try to explain my motives without telling her anything of importance but trying to get her to understand that what I say is important. "I care more about my sister than I do anything in this universe. I'd do anything for her, to make sure she's safe. Please don't worry her with crazy stories."

She sighs and I know I've gotten to her. It's wrong and I hate doing it but I had to.

"You're a dick, but I won't say anything to her." Looking down at her I feel so regretful for having to bully her into this. It isn't fair and it isn't right. She looks up and meets my gaze. "Okay? Happy?"

I sigh, no I'm not happy. I'm not happy about any of this, especially the way I'm treating her right now. "Not really. Not at all."

We continue to stare at each other, I wish I could read minds to understand what she was thinking. I wish I could share with her all of the things that I want to share and confide in her.

"Daemon!" Dee calls from the kitchen. "I need your help!" Oh good grief. Call out the fire department, things are going to get bad quick.

"We should go see what she's doing before she destroys your kitchen." I groan once more, "It's possible."

We walk out of the living room and I turn toward the kitchen. Turning away, Katy stops. "I think I need to… go."

Confused, I look at her. Her disheveled hair and the pink blush covering her cheeks are sweet and… I need to stop now. "Go… where?"

The pink rises even more, "Upstairs. I need a shower."

I just nod and turn back toward the kitchen. It's probably better if she doesn't see what Dee has going on in there anyway. The last think I need to try to do is convince her that Dee really wasn't cooking bacon with her hands.

When I get into the kitchen, Dee is standing there trying to figure out how to work the stove but nothing's happening. She's got food everywhere, egg shells and wrappers cluttering the counter and pots and pans all over the floor. When she sees me she smiles slightly.

"Is she really going to be okay?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine," I sigh. "You have nothing to worry about. Nothing is happening. Everything was taken care of when I came back here."

Dee looks at me skeptically. "Don't look like that. Nothing will happen to you. Or her, okay? We should've expected this."

"Did you?" Dee asks. "Because I was trying not to. I was trying to hope that we could have a friend – a real one – without them getting…," I pull her to me and wrap her in a hug, her voice muffled in my shirt, "to her. Will I still be able to be friends with her now? Will I be able to…?"

"Who knows, Dee? We will see how it plays out." I release her and she goes back to beating the eggs that she had been cracking when I entered. "I think you are beating those eggs to death. Here, let me have them."

She laughs a little and hands them over. "You know I can do it. I'm a great cook."

"Sure you are. But you have no idea how to use a stove."

"Yes I do, but there are faster things than the stove."

"And that is why you burn the food all of the time."

She giggles, but then turns solemn. "Did you really get rid of the Arum last night?"

"Yes, Dee. I told you, you have nothing to worry about. I took care of it. There's nothing more to worry about, I promise."


End file.
